French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "la musique" in French?

la mü-ZEEK — the tight French "u", an "s" pronounced "z", and a hard "k" at the end.

la musique /la my.zik/

la mu-SIQUE, weight on the second syllable. English stresses the first — MU-sic — so the beat has to move back one.

Listen: la musique

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Sound it out

mu An "m" plus the vowel /y/: tongue in the "ee" position, lips rounded. Not "myoo".

si A single "s" between vowels, therefore pronounced "z", plus a tense pure "ee".

que A hard "k" from the "qu", with the final "e" silent. No "w" sound anywhere.

Hear it in a sentence

J'écoute de la musique.

I'm listening to music.

Listen: J'écoute de la musique.

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"J'écoute de la musique" uses the partitive "de la" — you listen to some music, not the music. "Écouter" also takes no preposition, so French says "j'écoute la musique", never "j'écoute à". "J'écoute" elides "je" before the vowel, giving zhay-KOOT.

Where English speakers slip

The English "music" supplies a "myoo" at the front, an "s" hiss in the middle, and front stress. French wants a pure front-rounded /y/ with no glide, a "z", and the weight at the end. The verb is the other trap: "écouter" needs no "à", so adding one is a visible learner error.