tsé-tsé

\tse.tse\

/\tse.tse\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonyme de mouche tsé-tsé.

Corpus desk

Index FR-tse-tse · tsé-tsé · French

tsé-tsé · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" 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 tsé-tsé
PropertyValue
Headwordtsé-tsé
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\tse.tse\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « tsé-tsé » en français

tsé-tsésiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

tsé-tsé is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \tse.tse\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Synonyme de mouche tsé-tsé.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for tsé-tsé in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is tsé-tsé, spelled T-S-É---T-S-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonyme de mouche tsé-tsé.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how tsé-tsé appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Le bourgeron de certains autres, qui somnolaient, n’était plus qu’une plaque luisante de mouches, parmi lesquelles il n’aurait pas fallu chercher longtemps pour découvrir, à ses ailes croisées de façon à n’en plus former qu’une seule, la tragique petite tsé-tsé.
  2. Ce qu’on voyait, c’était les hideuses cohortes des tsé-tsé, des araignées-oiseaux, des mouches maçonnes…

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 "tsé-tsé"?
"tsé-tsé" is spelled T-S-É---T-S-É. The IPA pronunciation is \tse.tse\.
What does "tsé-tsé" mean?
As a noun, "tsé-tsé" means: Synonyme de mouche tsé-tsé.
How do you pronounce "tsé-tsé"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tsé-tsé" is \tse.tse\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tsé-tsé" come from?
"tsé-tsé" 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