French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "surpris" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce surpris in French?

surpris is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /syʁ.pʁi/. It means “surprised (f. surprise).” sür-PREE — the tight French "u", two throat "r"s, and a silent final "s".

sür-PREE — the tight French "u", two throat "r"s, and a silent final "s".

surpris /syʁ.pʁi/

sur-PRIS, weight on the second syllable. This is the past participle of "surprendre" being used as an adjective, which is why it looks like a verb form.

Listen: surpris

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Sound it out

sur A hissing "s", the vowel /y/ — tongue forward, lips rounded — then a uvular "r". Keep the lips rounded through the "r".

pri An unaspirated "p" into a second uvular "r", then a tense, pure "ee".

s Silent in the masculine. The feminine "surprise" turns it into a "z" and adds a syllable: sür-PREEZ.

Hear it in a sentence

Je suis surpris de te voir ici.

I'm surprised to see you here.

Listen: Je suis surpris de te voir ici.

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"Je suis surpris de te voir ici" uses "surpris de" plus an infinitive, the fixed pattern for being surprised to do something. "De te voir" strings three light beats together. A woman would write "surprise" and pronounce a "z" plus an extra syllable, which is a clearly audible difference.

Where English speakers slip

English "surprise" supplies the wrong first vowel — a central "er" — and pronounces the final "s". French wants the front-rounded /y/ and silence at the end. Both "r"s also need the throat treatment. And note that the masculine and feminine genuinely sound different here, unlike many French adjective pairs.