chenille

Name: chenille, French Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

\ʃə.nij\

/\ʃə.nij\/ noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“chenille” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #20,666 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#20,666
frequency rank, French: 8
letters: 10
tracked misspellings: 5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Stade larvaire de certains insectes.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

chenille vs cueille

75% similar

chenille vs cheville

88% similar

chenille vs chevilles

78% similar

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

Key facts for chenille
Property	Value
Headword	chenille
Language	French
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	\ʃə.nij\
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#20,666
Misspellings tracked	10
Confusable pairs	5
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “chenille” 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). chenille lands here:

#20,666

#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 chenille is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʃə.nij\. Corpus data places it at rank #20,666 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 17 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for chenille, with forms such as "cchenille", "cehnille", and "cheinlle". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "cueille", "cheville", "chevilles", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is chenille, spelled C-H-E-N-I-L-L-E.

Definition

1
Stade larvaire de certains insectes.
2
Larve dont le corps cylindrique est formé de douze anneaux, doté de six pattes à l’avant et de pseudopodes à l’arrière. → voir chenille processionnaire
3
Ver à soie.
4
Dispositif d’avancement continu.
5
Équipement moteur d’un véhicule. → voir chenillard
6
Entrainement sans fin utilisé en extrusion de profilés. → voir chenille de tirage
7
Groupe de danseurs à la queue leu-leu.
8
Manège tournant à haute vitesse.
9
Plante légumineuse ou scorpioïde.
10
Autre nom de la queue-de-scorpion, genre Scorpiurus L. → voir chenillette
11
Passementerie veloutée dont on se sert dans les broderies et dans d’autres ornements.
12
Attribut vestimentaire pour élégante.
13
Tissu fabriqué par assemblage de telles passementeries.
14
Figure collective consistant à échanger en cadence un ballon ou des quilles entre les participants.
15
Outil pour récurer les pipes
16
Cordon de métal remplissant un chanfrein.
17
Mauvaise femme.

Synonyms

farandolechenille muriquéechenille rayéechenillette chenillonherbe aux chenillespetite chenillettequeue-de-scorpion scorpionne scorpiure vermiculaire cure-pipesbourre pipetasse-braise

This word in other languages

caterpillar(English)oruga(Español)Raupe(Deutsch)lagarta(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cchenille,cehnille,cheinlle,chenile,chenilel,chenlile,chennille,chhenille,chneille,hcenille

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "chenille"

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 "chenille"?

"chenille" is spelled C-H-E-N-I-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ʃə.nij\.

What does "chenille" mean?

As a noun, "chenille" means: Stade larvaire de certains insectes.

What words are commonly confused with "chenille"?

"chenille" is commonly confused with "cueille", "cheville", "chevilles". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "chenille"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chenille" is \ʃə.nij\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "chenille" come from?

"chenille" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.

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 “chenille”

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

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