chemin

\ʃə.mɛ̃\

/\ʃə.mɛ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“chemin” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #735 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#735
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Voie, route pratiquée pour communiquer, pour aller d’un lieu à un autre.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

chemin vs chen
67% similar
chemin vs chin
67% similar
chemin vs chéri
50% similar

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

Key facts for chemin
PropertyValue
Headwordchemin
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʃə.mɛ̃\
Letters6
Frequency rank#735
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “chemin” 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). chemin lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for chemin is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʃə.mɛ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #735 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for chemin, with forms such as "cchemin", "cehmin", and "cheimn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "chen", "chin", "chéri", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, 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 chemin, spelled C-H-E-M-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Voie, route pratiquée pour communiquer, pour aller d’un lieu à un autre.
  2. 2
    Zone sur laquelle on circule, et que l’on suit pour garder sa direction, le plus souvent une zone en terre, plus ou moins aplatie, mais aussi n’importe quelle voie ou route avec une chaussée.
  3. 3
    Toute ligne ou voie qu’on parcourt, ou qu’on peut parcourir, pour aller d’un lieu à un autre.
  4. 4
    Bande de tapis posée au sol sur les marches d'un escalier ou dans un couloir.
  5. 5
    Tout parcours, tout déplacement suivi par un objet mobile.
  6. 6
    Parcours suivi par une personne dans un but donné.
  7. 7
    Suite d'événements (externes ou intérieurs) vécus par une personne.
  8. 8
    Suite d’arcs contigus orientés dans le même sens.
  9. 9
    Synonyme de chemin d’accès.

Synonyms

alléecircuitparcourspisterouteruesentiertrimardvoie

This word in other languages

path(English)camino(Español)Pfad(Deutsch)caminho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cchemin,cehmin,cheimn,cheminn,chemmin,chemni,chhemin,chmein,hcemin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chemin - 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.

cchemin1cehmin2cheimn2cheminn1chemmin1chemni2chhemin1chmein2
Edit distance from "chemin"

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 "chemin"?
"chemin" is spelled C-H-E-M-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ʃə.mɛ̃\.
What does "chemin" mean?
As a noun, "chemin" means: Voie, route pratiquée pour communiquer, pour aller d’un lieu à un autre.
What words are commonly confused with "chemin"?
"chemin" is commonly confused with "chen", "chin", "chéri". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chemin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chemin" is \ʃə.mɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "chemin" come from?
"chemin" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “chemin”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-H-E-M-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ʃə.mɛ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “chen” - see the side-by-side comparison. chemin vs chen
  • 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.

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

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