pain au chocolat

/ˌpan əʊ ˈʃɒkəlɑː/

//ˌpan əʊ ˈʃɒkəlɑː// noun

"pain-au-chocolat" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pain au chocolat” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A French snack consisting of a pastry, normally similar to a croissant, with chocolate inside.

Key facts for pain au chocolat
PropertyValue
Headwordpain au chocolat
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpan əʊ ˈʃɒkəlɑː/
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pain au chocolat” sits in English frequency

pain au chocolat falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pain au chocolat is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpan əʊ ˈʃɒkəlɑː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A French snack consisting of a pastry, normally similar to a croissant, with chocolate inside.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for pain au chocolat, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French pain au chocolat (literally “chocolate bread”). The correct English form is pain au chocolat, spelled P-A-I-N- -A-U- -C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A French snack consisting of a pastry, normally similar to a croissant, with chocolate inside.

Etymology

Borrowed from French pain au chocolat (literally “chocolate bread”).

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pain au chocolat"?
"pain au chocolat" is spelled P-A-I-N- -A-U- -C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpan əʊ ˈʃɒkəlɑː/.
What does "pain au chocolat" mean?
As a noun, "pain au chocolat" means: A French snack consisting of a pastry, normally similar to a croissant, with chocolate inside.
How do you pronounce "pain au chocolat"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pain au chocolat" is /ˌpan əʊ ˈʃɒkəlɑː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pain au chocolat"?
Borrowed from French pain au chocolat (literally “chocolate bread”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “pain au chocolat”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-A-I-N- -A-U- -C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌpan əʊ ˈʃɒkəlɑː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list