Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

maté

/ˈmæteɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.75 in modern English

Syllables
mate
IPA
/ˈmæteɪ/
5
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An evergreen tree, Ilex paraguariensis, native to South America, cultivated for its leaves.

Countable

noun

A beverage, resembling tea, made from the dried leaves of this plant.

Uncountable

noun

A cup of this drink.

Countable

noun

The container used to prepare this drink, traditionally a small calabash.

Countable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish mate, from Quechua mati. Here, as well as in the matë variant, the unetymologically accented e serves the purpose in English of marking that vowel as pronounced, as in latte, rather than silent as in mate.

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈmæteɪ/
  • British English: /ˈmæteɪ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

matés (plural) mate (alternative) matë (alternative)

Derived Forms

mateine

Frequently Paired Words

bombilla

Synonyms

yerba mate yerba maté tea gourd

Rhymes With

fête pâté até paté raté saté platé creäte atë matë ratée

Questions

How do you pronounce maté?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmæteɪ/.
What does maté mean?
An evergreen tree, Ilex paraguariensis, native to South America, cultivated for its leaves.
Where does maté come from?
Borrowed from Spanish mate, from Quechua mati. Here, as well as in the matë variant, the unetymologically accented e serves the purpose in English of marking that vowel as pronounced, as in latte, rather than silent as in mate.

How to pronounce maté

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