Layered transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are model systems to explore ultrafast many-body interactions and various nonlinear optical phenomena. For the application of TMD-based optoelectronic devices capable of ultrafast response, it is essential to understand how characteristic electron–hole and electron–phonon couplings modify ultrafast electronic and optical properties under photoexcitation. Here, we investigate the sub-picosecond optical responses of layered semiconductor 2H–MoTe2 in the presence of an electron–hole (e–h) plasma and a long-lived coherent phonon. Transient reflectivity measurements depending on photon energy reveal that the optical response for short-time delays (