SpellingIQ

How to spell chief

chief

Not cheif.

The trap

I before E

The word chief puts I before E, and the misspelling cheif swaps the two letters. The pair says ee and there is no C before it, so this one follows the usual order.

IE and EI are easy to swap, so the order has to be known. When the pair says 'ee' it is usually IE, but EI straight after a C that says S (receive), unless the IE came from a Y (policies); when it says 'ay' it is usually EI (eight).

What it means

noun. A leader or ruler of a people or clan.

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SpellingIQ is a skill rating for spelling ability, not a clinical or psychometric IQ measure. American English is canonical; common variants are accepted.