French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "l'automne (m.)" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce l'automne (m.) in French?

l'automne (m.) is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /lo.tɔn/. It means “fall / autumn.” loh-TON — the "au" is a pure "oh", the "m" is silent, and the "n" is real.

loh-TON — the "au" is a pure "oh", the "m" is silent, and the "n" is real.

l'automne (m.) /lo.tɔn/

l'au-TOMNE, weight on the second syllable. The silent "m" is genuinely odd and worth flagging: it is a Latin fossil from "autumnus", kept in the spelling and dropped in speech.

Listen: l'automne (m.)

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Sound it out

l'au The article elided, then the "au" spelling giving a closed "oh". One syllable including the article.

t An unaspirated "t".

om A short open "o". The "m" here is completely silent — an unusual case, since "m" normally either sounds or marks nasalization.

ne A real "n" consonant, kept audible by the silent final "e". So the word ends with the "n", not the "m".

Hear it in a sentence

En automne, les feuilles tombent.

In the fall, the leaves fall.

Listen: En automne, les feuilles tombent.

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"En automne, les feuilles tombent" links "en" into the vowel: /ɑ̃.n‿o.tɔn/, with the nasal releasing into a real "n". "Feuilles" has the "-euill-" spelling giving a rounded vowel plus a "y" glide: FUH-y. "Tombent" has a silent "-ent", so it is one syllable ending in a "b": TOHNB.

Where English speakers slip

Learners pronounce the "m", producing "oh-TOM-nuh" with three syllables. The "m" is silent and the word is two beats. They also nasalize the second vowel by analogy with "nom" — but the following "ne" keeps everything oral. English "autumn" also silences its "n", which is the mirror image of what French does.