French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "les toilettes (f. pl.)" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce les toilettes (f. pl.) in French?

les toilettes (f. pl.) is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /le twa.lɛt/. It means “restroom / toilet (always plural in French).” lay twa-LET — the "oi" is a "wa" glide, and the word is always plural in French.

lay twa-LET — the "oi" is a "wa" glide, and the word is always plural in French.

les toilettes (f. pl.) /le twa.lɛt/

The phrase peaks on -LETTES. The "(f. pl.)" note is important: this noun has no singular in this meaning, so you always ask for "les toilettes", never "la toilette", which would mean grooming or an outfit.

Listen: les toilettes (f. pl.)

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Sound it out

les A light "l" plus a closed "ay", with the "s" silent since "toilettes" begins with a consonant.

toi An unaspirated "t" plus the "wa" glide, one movement.

lettes A light "l", an open "eh" kept open by the doubled "tt", then a "t" made audible by the silent "e". The final plural "s" is silent.

Hear it in a sentence

Les toilettes sont au sous-sol.

The restrooms are in the basement.

Listen: Les toilettes sont au sous-sol.

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"Les toilettes sont au sous-sol" uses a plural verb, which follows from the noun being plural-only. "Au sous-sol" contracts "à le", and "sous-sol" is literally "under-floor" with the "s" of "sous" silent: soo-SOL. The hyphenated compound runs together as one unit.

Where English speakers slip

Learners use the singular, asking for "la toilette", which sounds odd and means something else. It is always plural. Phonetically, the "oi" gets split into two vowels and the final "s" gets pronounced. Say "twa" as one glide, then "LET", and leave the plural "s" silent — "les" is what marks the number.