French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "libre" in French?

LEE-bruh — one syllable and a fade, with a "br" cluster that trails off at the back of the throat.

libre /libʁ/

One full syllable with a fading cluster: LEE-br. Because the ending has no real vowel, the weight sits at the front — the standard pattern for these -re words.

Listen: libre

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Sound it out

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

bre A "b" into a uvular "r", with the final "e" silent or barely breathed. The same trailing shape as "vivre" and "perdre".

Hear it in a sentence

Est-ce que cette place est libre ?

Is this seat free?

Listen: Est-ce que cette place est libre ?

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"Est-ce que cette place est libre ?" uses the question marker so the word order can stay normal. "Cette" is the feminine demonstrative, /sɛt/, with an audible "t" thanks to the doubled consonant. "Place" ends in a silent "e" that keeps the "c" soft. The whole question rises on LIBRE at the end.

Where English speakers slip

Learners give the ending a full extra syllable, "LEE-bruh" with a clear "uh", or resolve it into an English "-ber", producing "LEE-ber". It should be a tight "br" that fades. The vowel also gets laxed toward "ih" by analogy with English "library" — keep it a long clean "ee". And remember "libre" covers "available" as well as "free": a taxi, a seat, an evening.