Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

café

/ˌkæˈfeɪ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.75 in modern English

Syllables
cafe
IPA
/ˌkæˈfeɪ/
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A coffee shop; an establishment selling coffee and sometimes other non-alcoholic beverages, simple meals or snacks, with a facility to consume them on the premises.

noun

A small restaurant of any genre.

Canadian usage

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French café (“coffee; coffee shop”). Doublet of caffè and coffee.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌkæˈfeɪ/
  • British English: /ˈkæfeɪ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

cafés (plural) cafe (alternative) caffè (alternative) caffe (alternative) caffé (alternative) caff (alternative, UK)

Derived Forms

cybercafé HoReCa

Phrases

butler café café espresso café-goer café revolutionary café society café terrace café wall illusion cat café

Frequently Paired Words

café-chantant café de move-on café mocha café noisette chasse-café beverage restaurant pub

Synonyms

caff coffeehouse coffee shop tea shop coffee bar beanery café teahouse tea room

Homonyms

CAFE

Rhymes With

a. j j. k k. 'kay u.k. u.s.a. josé beyoncé renée sauté

Questions

How do you pronounce café?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌkæˈfeɪ/.
What does café mean?
A coffee shop; an establishment selling coffee and sometimes other non-alcoholic beverages, simple meals or snacks, with a facility to consume them on the premises.
Where does café come from?
Unadapted borrowing from French café (“coffee; coffee shop”). Doublet of caffè and coffee.

How to pronounce café

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “café”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌkæˈfeɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “café”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “café” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.