coffee
cof·fee/ˈkɒfi/noun, adjective, verb
coffee is spelled C-O-F-F-E-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (cof·fee). It appears 72 times per million words in written English, the 1,457th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, coffee means “A beverage made by infusing the beans of the coffee plant in hot water” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of coffee is coffees or coffées.
How many letters and syllables are in coffee?
| Letters | 6: C-O-F-F-E-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: cof·fee |
| In writing | 72 times per million words; the 1,457th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is coffee?
Coffee appears 72 times per million words in written English, the 1,457th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce coffee?
- UK /ˈkɒfi/
- /ˈkɔːfɪ/
- /ˈkɔfi/
Coffee has 2 syllables, split cof·fee in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-coffee.ogg, En-us-coffee.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with coffee
Sounds like: coughy (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with coffee?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as coffee from its last stressed vowel (/ɒfi/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of coffee
- coffees plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- coffée rare
- coffeeing participle, present
- coffeed participle, past
- coffee'd participle, past
- coffées plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does coffee mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A beverage made by infusing the beans of the coffee plant in hot water.
He and his friends used to order coffee whenever they went out.
- 2
A serving of this beverage.
- 3
The seeds of the plant used to make coffee, called ‘beans’ due to their shape.
- 4
The powder made by roasting and grinding the seeds.
- 5
A tropical plant of the genus Coffea.
- 6
A pale brown color, like that of milky coffee.
- 7
The end of a meal, when coffee is served.
He did not stay for coffee.
adjective
- 1
Of a pale brown colour, like that of milk coffee.
- 2
Of a table: a small, low table suitable for people in lounge seating to put coffee cups on.
verb
- 1
To drink coffee.
- 2
To give coffee to.
noun
- 1
rareRare spelling of coffee.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Coffee in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | café , caféier |
| German | Kaffee, Kàffe, Kafää , Kaffeepflanze , Kaffebohne , kaffeebraun |
| Portuguese | café , cafezeiro, pé decafé |
| Spanish | café, tinto, feca, cafelito , grano de café |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does coffee come from?
Borrowed from Dutch koffie, from Italian caffè, from Ottoman Turkish قهوه (kahve), from Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa). Doublet of café and caffè and cognate with the words for "coffee" in other major European languages, most of which are derived from the Turkish and Italian words.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).