Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

masa

/mˈɑsɑ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.67 in modern English

Syllables: masa
IPA: /mˈɑsɑ/

6

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

2

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A strong form of paper, smooth on one side and lightly textured on the other, used for drawing and painting.

Uncountable

noun

Maize dough made from freshly prepared hominy, used for making tortillas, tamales, etc.

American usage; Uncountable

noun

Alternative form of Massa (“Chadic ethnic group”).

name

Alternative form of Massa (“Chadic language”).

name

A female given name from Japanese.

noun

Short for MASA syndrome.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"The chef Fermín Núñez of Suerte, in Austin, Texas, considers masa “the canvas of what Mexican cooking is all about.” “Without masa,” he said, “there’s no tortillas, and, without tortillas, there’s no tacos!”"

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 柾 (masa) or 政 (masa), an abbreviation of 柾紙 (masagami) or 政紙 (masagami).

Origin

Source language: Spanish

Word Breakdown

Root: masa, まさ

Usage

Uncountable
American usage

Inflected Forms

masas (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

Massa

Synonyms

masa paper

Questions

How do you pronounce masa?: The recorded pronunciation is /mˈɑsɑ/.
What does masa mean?: A strong form of paper, smooth on one side and lightly textured on the other, used for drawing and painting.
Where does masa come from?: It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce masa

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