chic vs sheik

Side by side

chic or sheik?

What is the difference between chic and sheik?

chic means "elegance by virtue of being fashionable". sheik means "the leader of an Arab village or family". They are pronounced identically — /ˈʃik/ — so only the spelling and the meaning separate them.

Which is more common, chic or sheik?

Neither is markedly more common — both sit in the "Familiar" band.

Are chic and sheik pronounced the same?

Yes. Both are /ˈʃik/, said sheek. Words that sound alike and are spelled differently are homophones, and they are the commonest source of written mix-ups in English.

Can chic and sheik be used in the same place in a sentence?

Both work as nouns, so they are grammatically interchangeable. That is exactly what makes the meaning difference worth checking.

Full entry for chic · Full entry for sheik · More comparisons