tempeh
/ˈtɛmpeɪ/
"tempeh" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tempeh” is uncommon English (frequency #75,481 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #75,481
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An Indonesian food made from partially-cooked soybeans fermented by a fungus (either Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tempeh |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɛmpeɪ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #75,481 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tempeh” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
tempeh is uncommon English at frequency #75,481 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtɛmpeɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An Indonesian food made from partially-cooked soybeans fermented by a fungus (either Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae).".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for tempeh, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Indonesian tempe, possibly from Old Javanese tumpi (“a food made from starch and tempeh”), or Indonesian tapai (“fermentation”). The correct English form is tempeh, spelled T-E-M-P-E-H.
Definition
- 1An Indonesian food made from partially-cooked soybeans fermented by a fungus (either Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae).
Etymology
From Indonesian tempe, possibly from Old Javanese tumpi (“a food made from starch and tempeh”), or Indonesian tapai (“fermentation”).
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
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Using “tempeh”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-E-M-P-E-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtɛmpeɪ/ (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.