French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "encore" in French?

ahn-KOR — a nasal first syllable, then a hard "k", an open "o", and a throat "r".

encore /ɑ̃.kɔʁ/

en-CORE, weight on the second syllable. The word means still, again, yet, and more — the sense is carried entirely by context, and the sound never changes.

Listen: encore

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Sound it out

en The nasal vowel /ɑ̃/, open and through the nose, with the tongue never rising to make an "n".

co A hard "k" — "c" before "o" — plus a short open "o" as in "cot".

re A final uvular "r" kept audible by the silent "e".

Hear it in a sentence

Je n'ai pas encore mangé.

I haven't eaten yet.

Listen: Je n'ai pas encore mangé.

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"Je n'ai pas encore mangé" is the passé composé with the negation wrapped around the auxiliary and "encore" slotted in after "pas". The "ne" elides to "n'" before "ai". Note the required order: "pas encore" is a fixed pair meaning "not yet", and reversing it would not work. "Mangé" ends in a closed "ay".

Where English speakers slip

English has borrowed "encore" for calling performers back, and the borrowed version has a real "n", an English "r", and often the stress at the front — "ON-core". French nasalizes the first syllable with nothing touching, puts the weight at the end, and makes the "r" in the throat. The meaning is also far broader in French than the theatrical English usage suggests.