French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "l'été (m.)" in French?

lay-TAY — two closed "ay" vowels, with the article fused on.

l'été (m.) /le.te/

l'é-TÉ, weight on the second syllable. Both vowels are identical, so the beat placement is the only thing distinguishing them.

Listen: l'été (m.)

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Sound it out

l' The article "le" with its vowel dropped before the vowel-initial noun.

é A closed "ay" from the accent aigu, short and with no glide. The accent also marks a lost "s" — the older form was "esté", from Latin "aestas".

té An unaspirated "t" plus another closed "ay".

Hear it in a sentence

En été, il fait chaud.

In summer it's hot.

Listen: En été, il fait chaud.

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"En été, il fait chaud" uses "en" before a vowel-initial season, and the two run together as /ɑ̃.n‿e.te/ — the nasal releases into a real "n". Note that "printemps" takes "au" instead, an inconsistency you simply memorise. "Il fait chaud" is the weather construction, using "faire" rather than "être".

Where English speakers slip

Learners give the apostrophe a beat, producing "luh-ay-TAY". It is two syllables. Both vowels also pick up an English glide toward "ee"; keep them short and closed. And the season prepositions need learning as a set: en été, en automne, en hiver, but au printemps.