tableau
/tæˈbloʊ/noun
tableau is spelled T-A-B-L-E-A-U: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tableau means “A striking and vivid representation or scene; a picture” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tableau is tableaux or tableaus.
How many letters and syllables are in tableau?
| Letters | 7: T-A-B-L-E-A-U |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tableau?
Tableau appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th 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 tableau?
- UK /ˈtæ.bləʊ/
- US /tæˈbloʊ/
Tableau 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-tableau.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tableau?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tableau from its last stressed vowel (/oʊ/):
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 tableau
- tableaux plural
- tableaus plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tableau mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A striking and vivid representation or scene; a picture.
- 2
A vivid graphic scene of a group of people or objects arranged as in a painting or bas relief sculpture.
- 3
UKdatedAn arrangement of actors in static positions on stage, having the effect of pointing up a particular moment in the drama, conventionally revealed by opening tableau curtains (known as "tabs").
- 4
A two-dimensional array or table of data, usually numbers, of various specific kinds.
- 5
A table that shows constraint violations of a list of candidates given an input and a constraint ranking.
- 6
Mostly in solitaire card games, but also in other card and board games, the main area, where random cards can be arranged.
- 7
A semantic tableau.
- 8
A unit of a play, an opera, or a ballet with change of stage setting.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tableau in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | cuadro , retablo, cuadro vivo |
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 tableau come from?
Unadapted borrowing from French tableau, from Old French tablel (“a surface which is used primarily for painting”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).