Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

chav

/t͡ʃæv/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.27 in modern English

Syllables: chav
IPA: /t͡ʃæv/

12

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A working-class youth, especially one associated with aggression, poor education, and a perceived "common" taste in clothing and lifestyle.

British usage; Derogatory; Offensive

Example Sentences

"Lyrical staff / Never could they ever take me for a chav / Scholar in the English, scholar in the Math / Dizzee ain't no riff raff"
"His book concerns ‘chavs’, a supposed underclass of ill-educated, fast-breeding, violent and amoral poor people currently plaguing Britain."

Etymology

Origin uncertain; probably of Angloromani origin. Compare Romani chavi (“male child”) or ćhavo, shavo (“female child”), chal (“boy”), chavvy (“mate, friend”), compare Swedish tjej; possibly cognate with Portuguese chavalo, Spanish chaval, German Chabo, Russian чувак (čuvak), Hungarian csávó. See also charva. Derivations from council-housed and violent, Cheltenham average (and similar) are folk-etymological backronyms.

Word Breakdown

Root: -

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /t͡ʃæv/
British English: /t͡ʃæv/

Usage

Inflected Forms

chavs (plural)

Derived Forms

antichav chavdom chavish chavism chavness chavster chavtastic chavvery chavving chavvy

Frequently Paired Words

mush chavette spiv geezer wide boy dobber

Synonyms

charva ned pikey adlay bam Barry boy bazza benny bogan bopper brush charver

Rhymes With

have salve wav halve lav trav pav gav calve scav

Questions

How do you pronounce chav?: The recorded pronunciation is /t͡ʃæv/.
What does chav mean?: A working-class youth, especially one associated with aggression, poor education, and a perceived "common" taste in clothing and lifestyle.
Where does chav come from?: Origin uncertain; probably of Angloromani origin. Compare Romani chavi (“male child”) or ćhavo, shavo (“female child”), chal (“boy”), chavvy (“mate, friend”), compare Swedish tjej; possibly cognate with Portuguese chavalo, Spanish chaval, German Chabo, Russian чувак (čuvak), Hungarian csávó. See also charva. Derivations from council-housed and violent, Cheltenham average (and similar) are folk-etymological backronyms.

How to pronounce chav

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “chav”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/t͡ʃæv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “chav”.
Repeat and practice — Say “chav” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.