Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mata hari

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.00 in modern English

Syllables
mata hari
IPA
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any exotic female spy.

Etymology

From Dutch (stage name of Margaretha Geertruida (Grietje) Zelle, a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was executed by firing squad for alleged espionage during World War I), from Malay matahari (“sun”).

Inflected Forms

Mata Haris (plural)

Phrases

mata-mata femme fatale

Frequently Paired Words

mata-mata femme fatale

Questions

What does mata hari mean?
Any exotic female spy.
Where does mata hari come from?
From Dutch (stage name of Margaretha Geertruida (Grietje) Zelle, a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was executed by firing squad for alleged espionage during World War I), from Malay matahari (“sun”).

How to pronounce mata hari

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