café au lait
/ˌkæfeɪ əʊ ˈleɪ/
"cafe-au-lait" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“café au lait” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A mixture of coffee and hot milk.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | café au lait |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌkæfeɪ əʊ ˈleɪ/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “café au lait” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
café au lait is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌkæfeɪ əʊ ˈleɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for café au lait in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French café au lait (literally “coffee with milk”). The correct English form is café au lait, spelled C-A-F-É- -A-U- -L-A-I-T.
Definition
- 1A mixture of coffee and hot milk.
- 2Coffee and hot milk served in separate jugs as a breakfast drink.
- 3A light coffee colour.
Etymology
Borrowed from French café au lait (literally “coffee with milk”).
This word in other languages
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 "café au lait"?
What does "café au lait" mean?
How do you pronounce "café au lait"?
What is the origin of the word "café au lait"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “café au lait”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-F-É- -A-U- -L-A-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkæfeɪ əʊ ˈleɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.