French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "savoir" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce savoir in French?

savoir is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /sa.vwaʁ/. It means “to know (a fact).” sah-VWAHR — English has borrowed this whole word in "savoir-faire", and the French version is close, minus the American "r".

sah-VWAHR — English has borrowed this whole word in "savoir-faire", and the French version is close, minus the American "r".

savoir /sa.vwaʁ/

sa-VOIR, weight on the second syllable. This verb covers knowing facts and knowing how to do something, while "connaître" covers being acquainted with people and places — a distinction French insists on and English collapses.

Listen: savoir

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Sound it out

sa A hissing "s" plus a short open "ah". Unstressed and quick.

voi "v" into the "wa" glide, all one movement.

r A pronounced uvular "r" at the end, made by rasping air at the back of the throat.

Hear it in a sentence

Je ne sais pas.

I don't know.

Listen: Je ne sais pas.

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"Je ne sais pas" is the full written negation, and it is also the phrase where you will most often hear French speakers drop the "ne": "je sais pas", or even further compressed to "chais pas". "Sais" is /sɛ/, one syllable with an open "eh" and a silent "s" — nothing like the infinitive's shape.

Where English speakers slip

Because "savoir-faire" exists in English, people say the French word with an English accent already baked in: a curled "r" and a stressed first syllable, SAV-wahr. Move the weight to the second syllable and put the "r" in your throat. The deeper trap is choosing between "savoir" and "connaître" — say "je connais que..." and a French speaker will notice immediately.