Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mooncake

/ˈmunkeɪk/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.75 in modern English

Syllables
moon-cake
IPA
/ˈmunkeɪk/
16
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

Example Sentences

Etymology

From moon + cake, a calque of Mandarin 月餅 /月饼 (yuèbíng, “mooncake”), from 月 (yuè, “moon”) + 餅 /饼 (bíng, “pastry; biscuit, cookie”), probably because the pastry’s traditional round shape resembles the full moon visible during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈmunkeɪk/
  • British English: /ˈmuːnkeɪk/

Inflected Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Questions

How do you pronounce mooncake?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmunkeɪk/.
What does mooncake mean?
A rich, dense Chinese pastry traditionally filled with lotus seed paste and nowadays with a variety of other fillings, usually eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar; early September to early October).
Where does mooncake come from?
From moon + cake, a calque of Mandarin 月餅 /月饼 (yuèbíng, “mooncake”), from 月 (yuè, “moon”) + 餅 /饼 (bíng, “pastry; biscuit, cookie”), probably because the pastry’s traditional round shape resembles the full moon visible during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

How to pronounce mooncake

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