French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "le week-end" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce le week-end in French?

le week-end is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /lə wi.kɛnd/. It means “weekend.” luh wee-KEND — an English borrowing that keeps most of its original sound, hyphen included.

luh wee-KEND — an English borrowing that keeps most of its original sound, hyphen included.

le week-end /lə wi.kɛnd/

le week-END, with the weight on the second element — French shifts the stress to the end even in borrowings, where English would say WEEK-end. That shift is the clearest sign the word has been naturalised.

Listen: le week-end

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Sound it out

wee A "w" glide plus a pure "ee". The letter "w" is rare in French and appears almost only in borrowings.

k A hard "k", slightly less aspirated than the English version.

end An open "eh", a real "n", and a "d". French pronounces all of it, though the vowel is flatter than the English one and the "n" is fully articulated rather than nasalized.

Hear it in a sentence

Bon week-end !

Have a good weekend!

Listen: Bon week-end !

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"Bon week-end !" is the standard Friday farewell, built on "bon" plus a time expression — the same pattern as "bonne journée" and "bonne soirée". "Bon" is a nasal vowel with no "n" consonant, so the phrase opens on a hum and closes on a crisp "d".

Where English speakers slip

English speakers say it with English stress, which paradoxically sounds wrong in French — the word has been absorbed and takes French rhythm, with the beat on "end". Learners also over-correct and try to nasalize the ending; the "n" here is a real consonant, since the word keeps its English shape. And note the article is masculine: "le week-end".