French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "donner" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce donner in French?

donner is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /dɔ.ne/. It means “to give.” do-NAY, with a short open "o" and no "r" sound at the end.

do-NAY, with a short open "o" and no "r" sound at the end.

donner /dɔ.ne/

don-NER, lift on the second syllable. This is the model regular verb of the largest French conjugation class, so its rhythm is the pattern for hundreds of others.

Listen: donner

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Sound it out

do A dental "d" plus a short open "o" as in "cot". Unstressed and quick.

nn A single "n" sound. The doubled letter matters because it blocks nasalization — with one "n" the preceding vowel would go nasal, as in "don".

er The -er infinitive ending: a closed "ay" with the "r" completely silent.

Hear it in a sentence

Tu peux me donner l'adresse ?

Can you give me the address?

Listen: Tu peux me donner l'adresse ?

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"Tu peux me donner l'adresse ?" puts the object pronoun "me" before the infinitive, which is where French requires it — English says "give me", French says "me give". "L'adresse" shows elision before a vowel, and note it has one "d" where English "address" has two: a-DRESS with the stress on the second syllable and a silent final "e".

Where English speakers slip

The English verb "donate" and the noun "donor" pull the first syllable toward a long "oh" and shift the stress forward, giving "DOH-ner". French wants a short open "o" and the weight at the end. Then the usual -er trap: no "r" sound in the ending. Say "do-NAY", and check that the doubled "nn" has kept your first vowel out of the nose.