Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mai tai

/ˈmaɪ ˈtaɪ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.21 in modern English

Syllables
mai -tai
IPA
/ˈmaɪ ˈtaɪ/
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A cocktail typically containing rum, curacao, and lime.

noun

Alternative letter-case form of mai tai.

Etymology

Borrowed from Tahitian maitaʻi (“good”), supposedly exclaimed by the first person to taste the drink. The spelling with a space may be influenced by folk-etymological association with the unrelated word Thai /Tai.

Inflected Forms

mai tais (plural)

Phrases

Mai-Tini tiki bar tiki culture

Frequently Paired Words

tiki bar tiki culture

Questions

How do you pronounce mai tai?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmaɪ ˈtaɪ/.
What does mai tai mean?
A cocktail typically containing rum, curacao, and lime.
Where does mai tai come from?
Borrowed from Tahitian maitaʻi (“good”), supposedly exclaimed by the first person to taste the drink. The spelling with a space may be influenced by folk-etymological association with the unrelated word Thai /Tai.

How to pronounce mai tai

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