French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "le livre" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce le livre in French?

le livre is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /lə livʁ/. It means “book (note: la livre = pound).” luh LEEVR — one syllable and a fade, with a "vr" cluster trailing off at the back of the throat.

luh LEEVR — one syllable and a fade, with a "vr" cluster trailing off at the back of the throat.

le livre /lə livʁ/

The phrase peaks on LIVRE, one full syllable plus a fading cluster. Because the ending has no real vowel, the weight sits at the front of the noun.

Listen: le livre

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Sound it out

le The masculine article. This is doing real work: "le livre" is a book, but "la livre" is a pound — the gender is the only difference.

li A light forward "l" plus a tense, pure "ee".

vre A "v" into a uvular "r", with the final "e" silent or barely breathed. Awkward for English mouths at the end of a word.

Hear it in a sentence

Je lis un livre passionnant.

I'm reading a gripping book.

Listen: Je lis un livre passionnant.

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"Je lis un livre passionnant" uses "lis" /li/, where the "s" is silent, so the verb is a single vowel after the "l". "Passionnant" has a doubled "ss" keeping the middle consonant hissing, and ends in a nasal with a silent "t": pa-syo-NAHN. Note the "-tion" here is "syon", as usual in French.

Where English speakers slip

Learners break the final cluster with a vowel, giving "LEE-vuh-ruh", or drop the "r" and say "leev". Keep it tight and let it fade. The gender point is the other trap: "la livre" means a pound (weight or currency), so getting the article wrong changes the meaning entirely. And do not confuse the noun with the verb "livrer" (to deliver).