French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "le pays" in French?

luh pay-EE — two syllables in the noun, with the "y" splitting them and the final "s" silent.

le pays /lə pe.i/

le pa-YS, weight on the second syllable of the noun. The word is two beats, which surprises people who expect a one-syllable reading of those four letters.

Listen: le pays

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Sound it out

le A light "l" plus a weak schwa.

pa An unaspirated "p" plus a closed "ay" — the "a" combines with the following "y" to give this vowel.

ys The "y" also feeds the second syllable, giving a pure "ee". The final "s" is silent, and singular and plural are spelled identically.

Hear it in a sentence

La France est un beau pays.

France is a beautiful country.

Listen: La France est un beau pays.

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"La France est un beau pays" uses "beau" before the noun, as short common adjectives do. Note the article before the country name — French says "la France", where English drops it. "Est un" carries an obligatory liaison, /ɛ.t‿œ̃/, with the silent "t" of "est" surfacing.

Where English speakers slip

Most learners produce one syllable, "pay" or "pace", pronouncing the "s". It is two beats with a silent ending: pay-EE. The word is also easy to confuse in listening with "paix" (peace), which really is one syllable, /pɛ/. And do not carry the English "country" over as a synonym for countryside — that is "la campagne".