French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "le serveur" in French?

luh ser-VUR — two throat "r"s and a rounded vowel at the end.

le serveur /lə sɛʁ.vœʁ/

le ser-VEUR, weight on the second syllable. The feminine is "la serveuse", which replaces the final "r" with a "z" — a bigger change than most gender pairs.

Listen: le serveur

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Sound it out

ser A hissing "s", an open "eh", then a uvular "r". Keep the vowel clean before the rasp.

veur A "v", the open rounded vowel /œ/, then a second uvular "r". Lips rounded through the whole syllable.

Hear it in a sentence

Le serveur apporte la carte.

The waiter is bringing the menu.

Listen: Le serveur apporte la carte.

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"Le serveur apporte la carte" links the noun into the verb: /sɛʁ.vœ.ʁ‿a.pɔʁt/, with the "r" carrying onto the vowel. "Apporte" ends in a pronounced "t" thanks to its silent "e". "La carte" here means the menu, which is what a waiter brings — not "le menu", which is a set formula.

Where English speakers slip

Two uvular "r"s in one word, and English speakers curl the tongue for both, which reshapes the vowels between them. Keep the tongue tip down and let the back do the work. The final vowel also gets unrounded. And note the word also means a computer server, borrowed back from English with the same French pronunciation.