French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "le" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce le in French?

le is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /lə/. It means “the (m. sing.).” luh — a light "l" plus a weak schwa. Not "lay", not "lee".

luh — a light "l" plus a weak schwa. Not "lay", not "lee".

le /lə/

Completely unstressed. The article is a lead-in to the noun, which carries the beat: le CHIEN, le TRAIN. English speakers who give equal weight to "le" make their French sound stilted.

Listen: le

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Sound it out

l A clear, light "l" made with the tongue tip forward against the ridge behind the upper teeth. French never uses the dark, back-of-the-mouth "l" that English has in "full" or "tall".

e The weak schwa /ə/, with slight lip rounding. It reduces further or disappears in quick speech, so "le film" can sound like "l'film".

Hear it in a sentence

Le chien dort.

The dog is sleeping.

Listen: Le chien dort.

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"Le chien dort" is three short words and only three syllables, because everything is compressed: luh-shyen-DOR. "Chien" is one syllable — "ch" as "sh", then a "y" glide into the nasal /ɛ̃/. "Dort" ends in a silent "t". Before a vowel this article would elide to "l'", as in "l'homme".

Where English speakers slip

The pull toward "lay" is strong, partly from the French phrases English has absorbed and partly because English readers see a bare "e" and reach for a full vowel. It is a schwa. Related, and just as common: forgetting to elide, producing "le homme" instead of "l'homme". If a masculine noun starts with a vowel or a mute "h", the article always contracts.