thé

\te\

/\te\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“thé” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,575 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,575
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Boisson chaude préparée à partir d’une infusion de feuilles du théier.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

thé vs tu
33% similar
thé vs TV
0% similar
thé vs Tl
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for thé
PropertyValue
Headwordthé
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\te\
Letters3
Frequency rank#3,575
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “thé” 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). thé lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for thé is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \te\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,575 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for thé, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tu", "TV", "Tl", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is thé, spelled T-H-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    Boisson chaude préparée à partir d’une infusion de feuilles du théier.
  2. 2
    Feuilles séchées de cette plante, destinées à préparer une infusion.
  3. 3
    Théier.
  4. 4
    Repas, ou réception, à un moment de la journée où l’on sert classiquement du thé, usuellement vers 17 h.
  5. 5
    Salon de thé.
  6. 6
    Infusion préparée à partir d’une autre plante. Ce sens, courant dans beaucoup de langues, ne se rencontre que très exceptionnellement en français. On dit plutôt tisane dans ce sens.
  7. 7
    Nom vernaculaire ou vulgaire donné à certaines plantes qui ressemblent au théier (comestible ou non), ou dont on fait des infusions avec les feuilles.
  8. 8
    Cannabis, herbe.

This word in other languages

tea(English)té(Español)Tee(Deutsch)chá(Português)

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 "thé"?
"thé" is spelled T-H-É. The IPA pronunciation is \te\.
What does "thé" mean?
As a noun, "thé" means: Boisson chaude préparée à partir d’une infusion de feuilles du théier.
What words are commonly confused with "thé"?
"thé" is commonly confused with "tu", "TV", "Tl". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "thé"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thé" is \te\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "thé" come from?
"thé" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “thé”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-H-É - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \te\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “tu” - see the side-by-side comparison. thé vs tu
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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