French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "tout le monde" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce tout le monde in French?

tout le monde is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /tu lə mɔ̃d/. It means “everyone.” too luh MOHND — three beats, and the "t" of "tout" stays silent because a consonant follows.

too luh MOHND — three beats, and the "t" of "tout" stays silent because a consonant follows.

tout le monde /tu lə mɔ̃d/

The phrase peaks on MONDE, with the first two beats running quickly into it. Grammatically it is singular, so it takes a singular verb: "tout le monde est prêt", never "sont prêts".

Listen: tout le monde

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

Sound it out

tout An unaspirated "t" plus the back "oo" of "soup". The final "t" is silent here because "le" begins with a consonant.

le A light "l" plus a weak schwa, often reduced almost to nothing so the phrase sounds like "too-l'MOHND".

monde An "m" plus the nasal vowel /ɔ̃/ — rounded lips, air through the nose — then a "d" made audible by the silent final "e".

Hear it in a sentence

Tout le monde est prêt ?

Is everyone ready?

Listen: Tout le monde est prêt ?

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

"Tout le monde est prêt ?" is a question by intonation, rising on PRÊT. The phrase literally means "all the world", which is why it looks plural but behaves singular. "Est" is a bare /ɛ/, and "prêt" ends in a silent "t" with the circumflex marking a lost "s".

Where English speakers slip

The singular verb agreement is the classic trap — English speakers hear "everyone" and reach for a plural. French treats it as one unit. Phonetically, learners pronounce the "t" of "tout", producing "toot luh mond", and give "monde" a real "n" before the "d". The vowel is nasal and the "n" is silent; only the "d" is a real consonant at the end.