French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "tard" in French?

tar — one syllable, an open "ah", a throat "r", and a silent "d".

tard /taʁ/

One syllable. The related noun phrase "en retard" has the same ending and means being late for something specific, while "tard" alone is about the hour of the day.

Listen: tard

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

t An unaspirated "t": no puff of air, tongue against the upper teeth.

ar An open "ah" followed by the uvular "r". The vowel must keep its own shape — English merges the two in "tar", French does not.

d Silent. It stays silent even in liaison for this word.

Hear it in a sentence

Il est trop tard.

It's too late.

Listen: Il est trop tard.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"Il est trop tard" links the pronoun into the verb, /i.l‿ɛ/, and there is no liaison after "trop" because "tard" starts with a consonant. The sentence is only three syllables and ends on the throat "r", where the pitch peaks: ee-LEH-tro-TAR.

Where English speakers slip

English "tar" gives the right vowel but ruins it with an American "r" that swallows the "ah" entirely. Form the vowel first, cleanly, then add the throat rasp. The bigger trap is meaning: "je suis tard" is not French. To say you are late you need "je suis en retard" — "tard" describes the hour, not a person's punctuality.