French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "faible" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce faible in French?

faible is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /fɛbl/. It means “weak.” FEH-bluh — an open "eh" and a final "bl" cluster with almost no vowel after it.

FEH-bluh — an open "eh" and a final "bl" cluster with almost no vowel after it.

faible /fɛbl/

One full syllable plus a trailing cluster: FEH-bl. Because the ending carries no real vowel, the weight sits at the front. Both genders share the same form.

Listen: faible

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Sound it out

fai An "f" plus an open "eh" /ɛ/ from the "ai" spelling. Not "ay", and not the English "fable" vowel.

ble A "b" into a light "l", with the final "e" silent or barely breathed. English does have this cluster at the end of words like "table", but with a fuller vowel before the "l".

Hear it in a sentence

Je me sens faible.

I feel weak.

Listen: Je me sens faible.

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"Je me sens faible" uses the reflexive "se sentir" — literally "I feel myself weak" — which is how French expresses feeling a certain way. "Sens" is /sɑ̃/, one nasal syllable with both the "n" and the "s" silent, so three written consonants produce none. Getting the reflexive pronoun right matters: "je sens" alone would mean "I smell".

Where English speakers slip

English "feeble" descends from this very word but has drifted: it uses an "ee" vowel and a full second syllable. French wants a flat open "eh" and an ending that fades. Learners also insert a vowel into the cluster, saying "FEH-buh-luh", which adds a beat. Say "feh" and then let "bl" trail off with the merest ghost of a vowel.