hi-hat

\ˈhaɪ.ˈhat\

/\ˈhaɪ.ˈhat\/ noun

The verdict

“hi-hat” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Charleston (instrument de percussion).

Corpus desk

Index FR-hi-hat · hi-hat · French

hi-hat · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for hi-hat
PropertyValue
Headwordhi-hat
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈhaɪ.ˈhat\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « hi-hat » en français

hi-hatreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hi-hat is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ˈhaɪ.ˈhat\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Charleston (instrument de percussion).".

No misspelling variants are generated for hi-hat in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is hi-hat, spelled H-I---H-A-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Charleston (instrument de percussion).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hi-hat"?
"hi-hat" is spelled H-I---H-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈhaɪ.ˈhat\.
What does "hi-hat" mean?
As a noun, "hi-hat" means: Charleston (instrument de percussion).
How do you pronounce "hi-hat"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hi-hat" is \ˈhaɪ.ˈhat\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hi-hat" come from?
"hi-hat" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list