Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

masala

/məˈsɑːlə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.89 in modern English

Syllables: masala
IPA: /məˈsɑːlə/

8

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of many blends of spices used in Indian cuisine, most often containing cardamom, coriander, mace together with pepper, nutmeg, fennel seeds, jeera etc.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Any dish prepared with such spices.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Any powder of ground ingredients, not necessarily used in cuisine.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"A couple of vegetables, sambar (spicy and sour lentils and vegetables boiled with masalas and spices), rasam (a hot and fiery lentil soup-like dish) and curds (yoghurt) served with heaps of rice and eaten in that order. […] Basically, it’s a juicy naan bread with an egg coating, stuffed with mutton or chicken, rolled up and sprinkled with a unique masala that gives it its special flavor."
"When she cooked, she reached out for bottles and masalas without glancing up."
"We ordered two lamb bhunas and a masala."

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani مصالحہ (maṣālḥa, maṣāliḥa) / मसाला (masālā, “spice(s)”), from Classical Persian مصالح (masālih, “affairs, materials, spices”), plural of مصلحت (maṣlaḥat, “affair, policy, best thing to do”), both from Arabic, derived from صَلَحَ (ṣalaḥa, “be fit, competent, usable”).

Origin

Source language: Arabic

Word Breakdown

Root: ص ل ح, مصالح, -

Usage

Inflected Forms

masalas (plural) masale (plural) mussalla (alternative, obsolete)

Phrases

garam masala masala chai masala film tikka masala

Rhymes With

gala impala koala kamala valhalla uppsala pala sinhala tala tikka masala challah wallah

Questions

How do you pronounce masala?: The recorded pronunciation is /məˈsɑːlə/.
What does masala mean?: Any of many blends of spices used in Indian cuisine, most often containing cardamom, coriander, mace together with pepper, nutmeg, fennel seeds, jeera etc.
Where does masala come from?: It is traced to Arabic.

How to pronounce masala

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