animé

/ˈæ.nɪ.meɪ/

//ˈæ.nɪ.meɪ// noun

"anime" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“animé” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The resin of the courbaril (Hymenaea courbaril), used in varnishes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-anime · animé · English

animé · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for animé
PropertyValue
Headwordanimé
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæ.nɪ.meɪ/
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “animé” in English

animéfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

animé is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈæ.nɪ.meɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The resin of the courbaril (Hymenaea courbaril), used in varnishes.".

animé doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French animé (“animated”), supposedly from the insects entrapped in it. Doublet of animate. The correct English form is animé, spelled A-N-I-M-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    The resin of the courbaril (Hymenaea courbaril), used in varnishes.

Etymology

Borrowed from French animé (“animated”), supposedly from the insects entrapped in it. Doublet of animate.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "animé"?
"animé" is spelled A-N-I-M-É. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæ.nɪ.meɪ/.
What does "animé" mean?
As a noun, "animé" means: The resin of the courbaril (Hymenaea courbaril), used in varnishes.
How do you pronounce "animé"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "animé" is /ˈæ.nɪ.meɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "animé"?
Borrowed from French animé (“animated”), supposedly from the insects entrapped in it. Doublet of animate. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list