Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tempeh

/ˈtɛmpeɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.20 in modern English

Syllables: tem-peh
IPA: /ˈtɛmpeɪ/

13

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An Indonesian food made from partially-cooked soybeans fermented by a fungus (either Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae).

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Usually sporulation occurred when the tempeh had been exposed to air ( e.g. as the result of uncovering of the pan too frequently ) ."
"Fresh or defrosted tempeh will keep 3 to 4 days in a refrigerator at 40°F, and at least 6 months or more in a freezer. When putting fresh tempeh into a refrigerator or freezer, don't stack the packages because heat from one package to another will encourage the culturing process to continue."
"The leaves were of use only to the tempeh factories, which collected them every night."

Etymology

From Indonesian tempe, from Malay tempe, possibly from Old Javanese tumpi (“a food made from starch and tempeh”), or Malay tapai (“fermentation”).

Word Breakdown

Root: tempe, tumpi, tapai

Usage

Inflected Forms

tempehs (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

tofu

Questions

How do you pronounce tempeh?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɛmpeɪ/.
What does tempeh mean?: An Indonesian food made from partially-cooked soybeans fermented by a fungus (either Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae).
Where does tempeh come from?: From Indonesian tempe, from Malay tempe, possibly from Old Javanese tumpi (“a food made from starch and tempeh”), or Malay tapai (“fermentation”).

How to pronounce tempeh

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