French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "aimer" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce aimer in French?

aimer is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /e.me/. It means “to love / to like.” eh-MAY — two syllables, two clean vowels, and no "r" at the end. Nothing like English "aim".

eh-MAY — two syllables, two clean vowels, and no "r" at the end. Nothing like English "aim".

aimer /e.me/

ai-MER, lift on the second syllable. Both syllables end in nearly the same vowel sound, which gives the word a symmetrical, chiming quality.

Listen: aimer

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Sound it out

ai Here the "ai" spelling gives a closed "ay" /e/ rather than the open "eh" it makes in "mais" — a small inconsistency in French spelling, and one you simply learn word by word.

m A normal "m". Crucially, it starts the second syllable rather than closing the first, so the vowel before it stays clean and non-nasal.

er The -er infinitive ending: a closed "ay", "r" silent.

Hear it in a sentence

Je t'aime.

I love you.

Listen: Je t'aime.

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"Je t'aime" is the most compressed sentence in the language: "te" elides before the vowel, so three words become two syllables, /ʒə.tɛm/. Notice the conjugated "aime" has an open "eh" while the infinitive has a closed "ay" — the final silent "e" changes the vowel before it. This is also a good demonstration that object pronouns go before the verb in French.

Where English speakers slip

The English word "aim" is the false lead, giving a diphthong that glides from "eh" toward "ee". French vowels do not glide; "ai" here is one steady sound. The other error is the ending — "ay-MAIR" instead of "ay-MAY". Worth knowing too that "aimer" means both "like" and "love", and the difference is carried by adverbs: "j'aime bien" is much cooler than "j'aime".