French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "la neige" in French?

lah NEZH — an open "eh" and the soft "zh" of "measure" at the end.

la neige /la nɛʒ/

The phrase peaks on NEIGE, one syllable ending in a buzz rather than a stop. The related verb "neiger" (to snow) has the same soft "g" and adds the silent -er ending.

Listen: la neige

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Sound it out

nei An "n" plus an open "eh" /ɛ/. The "ei" spelling gives this open vowel — not the "ay" of English "neigh".

ge "g" before "e" is soft: the buzz of "measure", kept audible by the silent final "e".

Hear it in a sentence

La neige tombe depuis ce matin.

It has been snowing since this morning.

Listen: La neige tombe depuis ce matin.

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"La neige tombe depuis ce matin" uses "depuis" with the present tense where English needs "has been snowing" — French keeps the present for an ongoing situation that started in the past. "Depuis" has the /ɥ/ glide, and "matin" ends in the nasal /ɛ̃/. "Tombe" ends in a silent "e" keeping the "b" audible.

Where English speakers slip

The "ei" gets read as English "ay", giving "nayzh", and the "g" comes out as a hard "j" as in "beige" said the American way. French wants a flat open "eh" and the soft buzz with no stop in front. The tense difference is the other thing to internalise — "il neige depuis ce matin" is present, not past.