Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lychee

/ˈlit͡ʃi/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.25 in modern English

Syllables: ly-chee
IPA: /ˈlit͡ʃi/

14

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The Chinese tropical fruit tree Litchi chinensis, of the soapberry family.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

That tree's bright red oval fruit with a single stone surrounded by a fleshy white aril.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A soft pink-red colour, like that of a lychee rind (also called lychee red).

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"No Chinese meal is complete without some succulent dim sims (pork minced with water chestnuts and enclosed in paste), and such sweets as honeyed lychee nuts and honeyed ginger."

Etymology

* /ˈlaɪ̯.t͡ʃi/, /laɪ̯ˈt͡ʃiː/ from Cantonese 荔枝 (lai⁶ zi¹) * /ˈlit͡ʃi/ from Hokkien 荔枝 (lē-chi) Doublet of litchi and lichi.

Word Breakdown

Root: 荔枝

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈlit͡ʃi/

Usage

Inflected Forms

lychees (plural) lichee (alternative) lichi (alternative) litchi (alternative)

Derived Forms

lycheetini

Synonyms

litchi litchi nut litchee lichi leechee lichee

Rhymes With

peachy beachy queachy reechy teachy

Questions

How do you pronounce lychee?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈlit͡ʃi/.
What does lychee mean?: The Chinese tropical fruit tree Litchi chinensis, of the soapberry family.
Where does lychee come from?: * /ˈlaɪ̯.t͡ʃi/, /laɪ̯ˈt͡ʃiː/ from Cantonese 荔枝 (lai⁶ zi¹) * /ˈlit͡ʃi/ from Hokkien 荔枝 (lē-chi) Doublet of litchi and lichi.

How to pronounce lychee

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈlit͡ʃi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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