château

\ʃɑ.to\

/\ʃɑ.to\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“château” has 10 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #1,586. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,586
frequency rank, French
257,141
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Demeure féodale défendue par des fossés et de gros murs flanqués de tours ou de bastions.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

château vs coteau
71% similar
château vs Châtel
57% similar
château vs couteau
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for château
PropertyValue
Headwordchâteau
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʃɑ.to\
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,586
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “château” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). château lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around château (IPA \ʃɑ.to\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,586 among 257,141 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for château, with forms such as "cchâteau", "chateau", and "chhâteau". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "coteau", "Châtel", "couteau", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is château, spelled C-H-Â-T-E-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Demeure féodale défendue par des fossés et de gros murs flanqués de tours ou de bastions.
  2. 2
    Résidence, habitation seigneuriale ou royale.
  3. 3
    Toute maison de plaisance vaste et magnifique.
  4. 4
    Maison de relativement grande dimension, généralement la plus grande du village.
  5. 5
    Grand cru de Bordeaux (dont le nom commence souvent par « château... »).
  6. 6
    Exploitation viticole qui élabore son propre vin, en particulier dans le Bordelais.
  7. 7
    (Anciennement) Construction surélevée édifiée à la poupe ou à la proue d'un navire. (Aujourd'hui) Superstructure construite dans la partie centrale d'un navire (Note: les navires affectés au transport des hydrocarbures tels que les pétroliers ou les méthaniers ont leur château édifié à l'arrière).
  8. 8
    Meuble représentant la bâtisse du même nom dans les armoiries. Il est généralement représenté sous la forme de deux tours liées par un mur. Si le nombre de tours change de l’ordinaire, on doit le blasonner. Quand il s’agit d'une représentation d'un château spécifique, cela doit être mentionné dans le blasonnement. Le château peut également être muni de donjon, porte, herse, toit, échauguettes, girouettes, bannières, etc. À rapprocher de château-fort.

This word in other languages

castle(English)castillo(Español)Schloss(Deutsch)castelo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchâteau
  • chateau
  • chhâteau
  • chtâeau
  • châetau
  • châtaeu
  • châteua
  • châtteau
  • câhteau
  • hcâteau

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of château - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cchâteau1chateau1chhâteau1chtâeau2châetau2châtaeu2châteua2châtteau1
Edit distance from "château"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "château"?
"château" is spelled C-H-Â-T-E-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is \ʃɑ.to\.
What does "château" mean?
As a noun, "château" means: Demeure féodale défendue par des fossés et de gros murs flanqués de tours ou de bastions.
What words are commonly confused with "château"?
"château" is commonly confused with "coteau", "Châtel", "couteau". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "château"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "château" is \ʃɑ.to\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "château" come from?
"château" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “château”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-H-Â-T-E-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ʃɑ.to\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “coteau” - see the side-by-side comparison. château vs coteau
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Same frequency band

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