French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "bien sûr" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce bien sûr in French?

bien sûr is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /bjɛ̃ syʁ/. It means “of course.” byan SÜR — a nasal first word and the tight French "u" in the second, with no liaison between them.

byan SÜR — a nasal first word and the tight French "u" in the second, with no liaison between them.

bien sûr /bjɛ̃ syʁ/

The phrase peaks on SÛR, with "bien" as a lead-in. No liaison occurs between the two words — the nasal simply ends and the "s" begins.

Listen: bien sûr

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Sound it out

bien A "b", a "y" glide, then the nasal vowel /ɛ̃/ — an open "eh" through the nose with nothing touching. One beat.

sû A hissing "s" plus the vowel /y/: tongue in the "ee" position, lips rounded. The circumflex is a spelling marker only.

r A final uvular "r", pronounced, with the lips staying rounded through it.

Hear it in a sentence

Bien sûr, je viens.

Of course, I'm coming.

Listen: Bien sûr, je viens.

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"Bien sûr, je viens" uses the phrase as a standalone opener followed by a comma, which is its most common position. "Viens" is one syllable, /vjɛ̃/, with the same nasal vowel as "bien" — so the sentence opens and closes on the same hum. French uses the present tense for a near-future action here, just as English can.

Where English speakers slip

Two vowels go wrong at once. "Bien" becomes "bee-EN" with two syllables and a real "n", and "sûr" becomes "sure" or "soor" with the wrong vowel. Fix them separately: one nasal beat for the first, and the tight lip-rounded /y/ for the second. Then run them together with no liaison and the pitch rising to the end.