French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "combien" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce combien in French?

combien is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kɔ̃.bjɛ̃/. It means “how much / how many.” kohn-BYAN — two different nasal vowels, with a "y" glide before the second.

kohn-BYAN — two different nasal vowels, with a "y" glide before the second.

combien /kɔ̃.bjɛ̃/

com-BIEN, weight on the second syllable. Both syllables are nasal but with different vowels — rounded /ɔ̃/ then open /ɛ̃/ — which makes this a compact drill for the nasal system.

Listen: combien

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Sound it out

com A hard "k" plus the nasal vowel /ɔ̃/ — rounded lips, air through the nose. The "m" is a nasalization marker used before "b", not a consonant.

bie A "b" plus a "y" glide from the "i", running straight into the vowel.

n Another nasalization marker, turning the preceding sound into /ɛ̃/ — an open "eh" through the nose. So the word ends on a hum with nothing touching.

Hear it in a sentence

Combien ça coûte ?

How much does it cost?

Listen: Combien ça coûte ?

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"Combien ça coûte ?" is the everyday way to ask a price, shorter than the textbook "combien est-ce que ça coûte ?". "Coûte" has a circumflex marking a lost "s" and ends in a pronounced "t" thanks to the silent "e". Before a noun the phrase needs "de": "combien de temps", "combien de personnes".

Where English speakers slip

Learners produce real "m" and "n" consonants, giving "kom-bee-EN" in three syllables. It is two beats and nothing in the mouth closes. The second syllable in particular gets stretched into "bee-EN" when it should be a single glide-plus-nasal unit, "byan". Say "bien" on its own first, then put "kohn" in front of it.