chiffchaff

C3H4I1F4F4C3H4A1F4F4
/ˈt͡ʃɪf.t͡ʃæf/

noun

A small, common warbler, of species Phylloscopus collybita, with yellowish-green plumage that breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia.

“I thought I heard something singing chiffchaff, chiffchaff. So I had a look and there was a chiffchaff.”

RareScrabble 32
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounchiffchaff (plural chiffchaffs)

plural chiffchaffs · alternative chiff-chaff

  1. A small, common warbler, of species Phylloscopus collybita, with yellowish-green plumage that breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia.
  2. Any of several other species of the same genus.
interjection

alternative chiff-chaff

  1. UKonomatopoeicuncountableThe song of the chiffchaff.

    I thought I heard something singing chiffchaff, chiffchaff. So I had a look and there was a chiffchaff.

Origin

Echoic of the repetitive "chiff-chaff" song of the European species, Phylloscopus collybita. * Audio: (file)

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian елов певец
  • елов певец (elov pevec)Phylloscopus collybita
Catalan mosquiter
  • mosquiterPhylloscopus collybita
Czech budníček menší
  • budníček menšíPhylloscopus collybita
Danish gransanger
  • gransangerPhylloscopus collybita
Dutch tjiftjaf, boszanger
  • tjiftjafPhylloscopus collybita
  • boszangerPhylloscopus species
Finnish tiltaltti, uunilintu
  • tiltalttiPhylloscopus collybita
  • uunilintuPhylloscopus species
  • tilt-taltsong of chiffchaff
French pouillot véloce
  • pouillot vélocePhylloscopus collybita
German Zilpzalp
  • ZilpzalpPhylloscopus collybita
Greek δενδροφυλλοσκόπος
  • δενδροφυλλοσκόπος (dendrofylloskópos)Phylloscopus collybita
Hungarian csilpcsalpfüzike, csilpcsalp
  • csilpcsalpfüzikePhylloscopus collybita
  • csilpcsalpsong of chiffchaff
Icelandic gransöngvari
  • gransöngvariPhylloscopus collybita
Irish tiuf-teaf
  • tiuf-teafPhylloscopus collybita
Italian luì piccolo
  • luì piccoloPhylloscopus collybita
Polish pierwiosnek
  • pierwiosnekPhylloscopus collybita
Portuguese felosa-comum
  • felosa-comumPhylloscopus collybita
Romanian pitulice
  • pitulicePhylloscopus collybita
Russian пе́ночка-тенько́вка
  • пе́ночка-тенько́вка (pénočka-tenʹkóvka)Phylloscopus collybita
Scottish Gaelic caifean
  • caifeanPhylloscopus collybita
Spanish mosquitero
  • mosquiteroPhylloscopus collybita
Swedish gransångare
  • gransångarePhylloscopus collybita
Turkish çıvgın
  • çıvgınPhylloscopus collybita
Cite this entry
APA

chiffchaff. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chiffchaff

MLA

“chiffchaff.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chiffchaff. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chiffchaff,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chiffchaff.

Source: chiffchaff on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.