French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "passer" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce passer in French?

passer is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /pa.se/. It means “to pass / to spend (time).” pah-SAY — the doubled "ss" keeps the middle consonant hissing, and the "-er" is a bare "ay".

pah-SAY — the doubled "ss" keeps the middle consonant hissing, and the "-er" is a bare "ay".

passer /pa.se/

pas-SER, weight on the second syllable. Both vowels stay full — French does not weaken the first one to a schwa the way English would in "passer-by".

Listen: passer

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Sound it out

pa An unaspirated "p" plus a short open "ah".

ss A voiceless "s". The doubling is essential: a single "s" between two vowels would be pronounced "z", turning the word into something else entirely.

er The -er infinitive ending: a closed "ay" with a silent "r".

Hear it in a sentence

Je passe une semaine à Nice.

I'm spending a week in Nice.

Listen: Je passe une semaine à Nice.

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"Je passe une semaine à Nice" uses "passer" in its "spend time" sense, which is one of its many jobs — it also means to pass, to drop by, to hand something over, and to sit an exam. "Une semaine" has a real "n" in the article and a schwa in the middle of "semaine" that often drops: suh-MEN. "Nice" ends in a pronounced "s" thanks to the silent "e".

Where English speakers slip

English "passer" and "pass" push the stress to the front and give the vowel the flat "a" of "cat". French wants an open "ah" and the weight at the end. The doubled "ss" is the other thing to hold onto — learners who have just discovered that "s" between vowels becomes "z" sometimes apply it here and say "pa-ZAY", which the double letter exists specifically to prevent.