LingoDrop
French · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "déjà" in French?
day-ZHA — the "j" is the soft buzz of "measure", and the accents do two different jobs.
dé-JÀ, weight on the second syllable. English borrowed the phrase "déjà vu" with the stress shifted forward, so the French rhythm has to be relearned.
Listen: déjà
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Hear it in a sentence
J'ai déjà payé.
I've already paid.
Listen: J'ai déjà payé.
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"J'ai déjà payé" is the passé composé with the adverb slotted between the auxiliary and the participle, which is where French puts short adverbs — "j'ai payé déjà" would sound wrong. "Payé" ends in a closed "ay" with the "y" glide before it: pay-YAY. "J'ai" is elided into a single syllable.
Where English speakers slip
The English pronunciation of "déjà vu" is baked in for most people: a hard "j" or a flat "zh" with the wrong stress and often a nasalized first vowel. French wants a clean "day", the soft buzz from "measure", and the weight at the end. Neither accent affects the vowel quality in a way English speakers need to worry about — the "é" is closed, the "à" is just an "ah".