moustache
/məˈstɑːʃ/noun
moustache is spelled M-O-U-S-T-A-C-H-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “moustache vs mustache” about 480 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, moustache means “A growth of facial hair between the nose and the upper lip” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of moustache is moustaches.
How many letters and syllables are in moustache?
| Letters | 9: M-O-U-S-T-A-C-H-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is moustache?
Moustache appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th 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 moustache?
- British /məˈstɑːʃ/
- British /məˈstɒʃ/
- /məˈstæʃ/
Moustache has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-moustache.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with moustache
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: mustache.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of moustache
- moustaches plural
- mustache US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does moustache mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A growth of facial hair between the nose and the upper lip.
- 2
informalA curly bracket, { or }.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Moustache in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense hair on upper lip:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | moustache, bacchante, charmeuses |
| German | Schnurrbart, Oberlippenbart, Schnauzbart, Schnauzer, Schnäuzer |
| Portuguese | bigode |
| Spanish | bigote, mostacho, bozo |
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 moustache come from?
Used in English since the 16th century. From Middle French moustache from Italian mostaccio, from Early Medieval Latin mustācium, from Byzantine Greek μουστάκιον (moustákion), diminutive of (Doric) Ancient Greek μύσταξ (mústax, “upper lip”), of unknown origin (probably a Pre-Greek substrate). Replaced native English kemp (“moustache”), from Old English cenep.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).