chicvschickWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: chic is a adjective, chick is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“chic” is an adjective and “chick” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,307
“chic” frequency rank
#48,287
“chick” frequency rank
68594
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chic chick
Definition Que se distingue por la gracia y el refinamiento de su aspecto Pollo, polluelo, pollito

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chic and chick apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
chic
5 ch
chick

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chic is [ˈt͡ʃik] while chick is /t͡ʃɪk/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “chic” sits inside “chick”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chic is recorded at frequency rank #20,307, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃik]. chick is at rank #48,287, tagged as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃɪk/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 68594, this pair ranks #34,094 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chic vs chick

Shared letters: chi. Private to "chic": -. Private to "chick": k.

"chic" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "chick" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chiccchic · chci · chhic · chicc · cihc · hcic
  • chickcchick · chcik · chhick · chicck · chickk · chikc · cihck · hcick

Frequency comparison

chic#20,307
chick#48,287

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chic" and "chick" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "chic" is an adjective and "chick" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "chic" or "chick"?
"chic" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,307 in our Spanish list, against #48,287 for "chick". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chic vs chick

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “chic”; for a noun, it's “chick”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chic” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list