What does chichi mean?
Chichi is an informal adjective used to describe things that are excessively elaborate, ornate, or showily fashionable in a way that comes across as pretentious rather than genuinely tasteful. It is most often applied to interiors, clothing, restaurants, neighborhoods, and social occasions — a chichi boutique, a chichi hotel, a chichi party. The word carries an unmistakably critical or mocking tone: calling something chichi implies that its style is overdone, affected, or designed to impress rather than to please. It can also describe people who behave in an affectedly refined or snobbish manner, though this sense is now less common. Both spellings, 'chichi' and the older hyphenated 'chi-chi', are widely accepted. Borrowed from French in the early twentieth century, the word remains a favorite of critics and columnists who want a single, punchy term for style that has tipped over into vulgarity.
Showily or affectedly stylish; excessively ornate in a pretentious way.
"The restaurant was too chichi for his taste."
Derogatory connotation; typically used of décor, fashion, venues, or neighborhoods.
Something characterized by pretentious stylishness, or such style itself; also, a person who behaves in an affectedly refined way.
"The gallery was full of the usual chichi."
Less common than the adjectival use; often uncountable when referring to the style itself.
Rare; used only when counting discrete instances or persons described as chichi.
"The magazine profiled three chichis of the local art scene."
Chichi is what you say about a restaurant when the menu costs too much and describes the sauce for two full sentences.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chichi
Chichi was borrowed into English from French in the early twentieth century. In French, 'chichi' is an expressive, reduplicated colloquialism meaning fussy, pretentious, or overly ornate, and it appears in French slang by the late nineteenth century. The word's playful repetition echoes other expressive doubled syllables in colloquial speech. It entered American and British English through journalism and writing about fashion and society, where it retained its dismissive edge toward ostentatious display.
Word family
Usage notes
Almost always derogatory or mildly mocking. Common in informal speech and journalism describing interiors, fashion, restaurants, and neighborhoods. Often hyphenated as 'chi-chi' in older British usage; both spellings are accepted.
Don't confuse with
A sheikh is an Arab leader or elder; chichi means pretentiously stylish — the two merely share a similar 'sh'-heavy sound.
'Chihuahua' is sometimes jokingly shortened to 'chi-chi' as a small dog's name, but this has no connection to the word meaning pretentiously fashionable.