French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de rien" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce de rien in French?

de rien is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də ʁjɛ̃/. It means “you're welcome.” duh RYAN, where that last syllable is one nasal beat — "ryeh" through the nose, with no "n" consonant at the end.

duh RYAN, where that last syllable is one nasal beat — "ryeh" through the nose, with no "n" consonant at the end.

de rien /də ʁjɛ̃/

Two words, two beats, with the phrase peaking on "rien". "de" is so light it is almost a grace note leading into the main event.

Listen: de rien

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Sound it out

de A quick, weak "duh" with slightly rounded lips. In fast speech the vowel can vanish and the "d" leans straight onto the next word.

r The uvular French "r", made by rasping air at the back of the throat. Here it starts the syllable, so it is more audible than usual — a soft scrape, not a rolled Spanish trill.

ie A "y" glide into an open "eh": ry-eh, said as one quick movement rather than two vowels.

n Not a consonant here. It turns the preceding "ie" into the nasal vowel /ɛ̃/, so the air exits through the nose and the tongue never rises to touch the ridge behind your teeth.

Hear it in a sentence

De rien, bonne journée !

You're welcome, have a good day!

Listen: De rien, bonne journée !

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"De rien, bonne journée !" pairs the reply with a wish, and "bonne journée" is worth noticing: the doubled "nn" in "bonne" means the vowel is NOT nasal — you say a plain "o" then a real "n", /bɔn/, unlike the nasal "bon". The feminine "-e" endings on both "bonne" and "journée" are silent, but they are what keep the "n" audible in the first word.

Where English speakers slip

The endpoint of "rien" is where people go wrong. English speakers reach the "n" spelling and dutifully touch their tongue behind their teeth, producing "ree-ENN" with a real consonant. In French the "n" is an instruction to route the vowel through the nose and then stop — your tongue should stay completely still on the floor of your mouth. Also avoid stretching this into three syllables, "duh-ree-EN"; "rien" is one beat.