Meanings
plural tempehs
- countableuncountableAn Indonesian food made from partially-cooked soybeans fermented by a fungus (either Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae).
The leaves were of use only to the tempeh factories, which collected them every night.
2015, Eka Kurniawan, translated by Labodalih Sembiring, Man Tiger, Verso, page 12 more examples
Usually sporulation occurred when the tempeh had been exposed to air ( e.g. as the result of uncovering of the pan too frequently ) .
1960, Bwee-Hwa Yap, Nutritional and Chemical Studies on Tempeh, Cornell University, page 28Fresh 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.
1989, Dorothy R. Bates, The Tempeh Cookbook, Book Publishing Company, page 7
Origin
- Malaytapai“fermentation”
- Old Javanesetumpi“a food made from starch and tempeh”
- Malaytempe
- Indonesiantempe
- Englishtempeh
From Indonesian tempe, from Malay tempe, possibly from Old Javanese tumpi (“a food made from starch and tempeh”), or Malay tapai (“fermentation”).
More words from Indonesian, Malay, Old Javanese
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 丹貝 /丹贝, 天貝 /天贝
- 丹貝 /丹贝 (dānbèi)food made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
- 天貝 /天贝 (tiānbèi)food made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Dutch tempé, sojakoek
- tempéfood made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
- sojakoekfood made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Esperanto tempeo
- tempeofood made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Finnish tempe
- tempefood made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
French tempeh
- tempehfood made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
German Tempeh
- Tempehfood made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Indonesian tempe
- tempefood made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Japanese テンペ
- テンペ (tenpe)food made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Korean 템페
- 템페 (tempe)food made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Malay tempe
- tempefood made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Polish tempeh
- tempehfood made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Spanish tempeh
- tempehfood made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Thai เต็มเป
- เต็มเป (dtem-bpee)food made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans
Cite this entry
tempeh. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tempeh
“tempeh.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tempeh. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tempeh,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tempeh.
Source: tempeh on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.