French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "souvent" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce souvent in French?

souvent is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /su.vɑ̃/. It means “often.” soo-VAHN — a rounded first syllable, a nasal second one, and a silent "t".

soo-VAHN — a rounded first syllable, a nasal second one, and a silent "t".

souvent /su.vɑ̃/

sou-VENT, weight on the second syllable, which ends in an open nasal hum. The two syllables are very different in colour: one rounded and closed, one open and nasal.

Listen: souvent

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Sound it out

sou An "s" plus the back "oo" of "soup", lips forward.

ven A "v" plus the nasal vowel /ɑ̃/, open and routed through the nose with the tongue lying still.

t Silent, though it can surface in liaison before a vowel — "souvent en retard" may gain a "t" sound.

Hear it in a sentence

Je vais souvent au cinéma le week-end.

I often go to the movies on weekends.

Listen: Je vais souvent au cinéma le week-end.

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"Je vais souvent au cinéma le week-end" places the adverb after the conjugated verb, as French requires. "Au" is the contraction of "à le", and "le week-end" uses the definite article to mean "on weekends" as a habit. "Week-end" is a borrowing that keeps roughly its English sound, hyphen and all.

Where English speakers slip

The nasal gets flattened into a real "n", and the final "t" gets released, giving "soo-VENT" as an English reader would say it. Neither consonant is pronounced. Learners also stress the first syllable by analogy with English adverbs. Move the weight back and let the second syllable trail off through the nose without the tongue moving.