tei

\ˈteː.i\

/\ˈteː.i\/ verb

The verdict

“tei” is uncommon French (frequency #71,957 among 164,488 “T” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,957
frequency rank, French
164,488
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Deuxième personne du singulier du futur de l’indicatif du verbe teal.

Key facts for tei
PropertyValue
Headwordtei
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ˈteː.i\
Letters3
Frequency rank#71,957
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tei” sits in French 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). tei 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

tei is uncommon French at frequency #71,957 among 164,488 “T” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \ˈteː.i\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Deuxième personne du singulier du futur de l’indicatif du verbe teal.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for tei, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is tei, spelled T-E-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    Deuxième personne du singulier du futur de l’indicatif du verbe teal.

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tei"?
"tei" is spelled T-E-I. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈteː.i\.
What does "tei" mean?
As a verb, "tei" means: Deuxième personne du singulier du futur de l’indicatif du verbe teal.
How do you pronounce "tei"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tei" is \ˈteː.i\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tei" come from?
"tei" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “tei”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-E-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ˈteː.i\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list