chatouiller
\ʃa.tu.je\
The verdict
“chatouiller” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #40,666 in French word frequency and used as a verb.
- #40,666
- frequency rank, French
- 11
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Causer, par des attouchements légers et répétés, un tressaillement qui provoque le rire.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | chatouiller |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \ʃa.tu.je\ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #40,666 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “chatouiller” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for chatouiller is 11 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʃa.tu.je\. Corpus data places it at rank #40,666 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for chatouiller, with forms such as "cahtouiller", "cchatouiller", and "chaotuiller". 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. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is chatouiller, spelled C-H-A-T-O-U-I-L-L-E-R.
Definition
- 1Causer, par des attouchements légers et répétés, un tressaillement qui provoque le rire.
- 2Tout ce qui produit sur les sens des impressions agréables.
- 3Flatter agréablement.
- 4Toucher légèrement.
- 5Gratter, grattouiller.
- 6Émouvoir agréablement.
- 7Faire éprouver un picotement.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cahtouiller,cchatouiller,chaotuiller,chatoiuller,chatouilelr,chatouiler,chatouillerr,chatouillre,chatouliler,chattouiller,chatuoiller,chhatouiller,chtaouiller,hcatouiller
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chatouiller - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "chatouiller"?
What does "chatouiller" mean?
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Using “chatouiller”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is C-H-A-T-O-U-I-L-L-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ʃa.tu.je\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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.