LingoDrop
French · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "la chose" in French?
lah SHOHZ — "ch" is "sh", the "o" is a pure "oh", and the "s" between vowels is a "z".
The phrase peaks on CHOSE, one syllable ending in a buzz. It is the same noun that appears in "quelque chose" (something), where the two words fuse into one rhythmic unit.
Listen: la chose
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
J'ai une chose à te dire.
I have one thing to tell you.
Listen: J'ai une chose à te dire.
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"J'ai une chose à te dire" uses "à" plus an infinitive to mean "to tell" — the standard pattern for something that needs doing. "À te dire" strings three light beats together. "Dire" keeps its final "r" as an -re infinitive. Note the object pronoun "te" comes before the verb, as French requires.
Where English speakers slip
An English "ch" plus an unvoiced "s" turns this into "chose", the English past tense of "choose" Both are wrong: "sh" then "z". The vowel also picks up an English glide. Say "show" then add a "z", and you have it — one steady vowel between two soft consonants.