LingoDrop
French · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "sale" in French?
sahl — one syllable, an open "ah", and a light "l". Nothing to do with the English word "sale".
One syllable. The word is invariable in form between genders, and it is worth distinguishing from "salle" (a room), which is pronounced identically — French has a lot of these near-collisions.
Listen: sale
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
Mes chaussures sont sales.
My shoes are dirty.
Listen: Mes chaussures sont sales.
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"Mes chaussures sont sales" has a silent plural "s" on the adjective, so "sale" and "sales" sound alike. "Chaussures" is three syllables with "ch" as "sh", a doubled "ss" keeping the middle consonant hissing, and the tight French "u": sho-SÜR. Note that placing "sale" before the noun shifts its meaning toward "nasty" — "un sale type" is a nasty piece of work, not a dirty one.
Where English speakers slip
The English word "sale" is a complete false friend in both sound and meaning: it has a diphthong and means something entirely different. French "sale" is one flat "ah" and a light "l". Learners also make the "l" dark and back, as English does in "pale" — French keeps it bright and forward with the tongue tip on the ridge behind the upper teeth.