satay

/ˈsæt.eɪ/

//ˈsæt.eɪ// noun

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

The verdict

“satay” is uncommon English (frequency #71,884 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,884
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A dish made from small pieces of meat or fish grilled on a skewer and served with a spicy peanut sauce, originating from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Key facts for satay
PropertyValue
Headwordsatay
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsæt.eɪ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#71,884
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “satay” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). satay lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

satay is uncommon English at frequency #71,884 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsæt.eɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A dish made from small pieces of meat or fish grilled on a skewer and served with a spicy peanut sauce, originating from Indonesia and Malaysia.".

satay has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Malay sate (“satay”), ultimately from Tamil சதை (catai). The correct English form is satay, spelled S-A-T-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A dish made from small pieces of meat or fish grilled on a skewer and served with a spicy peanut sauce, originating from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Etymology

From Malay sate (“satay”), ultimately from Tamil சதை (catai).

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); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "satay"?
"satay" is spelled S-A-T-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsæt.eɪ/.
What does "satay" mean?
As a noun, "satay" means: A dish made from small pieces of meat or fish grilled on a skewer and served with a spicy peanut sauce, originating from Indonesia and Malaysia.
How do you pronounce "satay"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "satay" is /ˈsæt.eɪ/. 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 "satay"?
From Malay sate (“satay”), ultimately from Tamil சதை (catai). 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.

Using “satay”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-A-T-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈsæt.eɪ/ (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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list