French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "vraiment" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce vraiment in French?

vraiment is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /vʁɛ.mɑ̃/. It means “really.” vreh-MAHN — a "vr" cluster at the front, an open "eh", and a nasal ending with a silent "t".

vreh-MAHN — a "vr" cluster at the front, an open "eh", and a nasal ending with a silent "t".

vraiment /vʁɛ.mɑ̃/

vrai-MENT, weight on the second syllable. Every "-ment" adverb in French works this way: the ending is nasal, the "t" is silent, and the beat lands there.

Listen: vraiment

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Sound it out

vr A "v" into the uvular "r" with no vowel between. English produces this cluster only across word boundaries, so it takes practice inside a syllable.

ai An open "eh" /ɛ/, flat and short. This is the word "vrai" sitting inside the adverb.

ment An "m" plus the nasal vowel /ɑ̃/, with the final "t" silent. This is the standard French adverb ending, equivalent to English "-ly".

Hear it in a sentence

C'est vraiment délicieux.

It's really delicious.

Listen: C'est vraiment délicieux.

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"C'est vraiment délicieux" places the adverb before the adjective, as English does. "Délicieux" is four syllables ending in the rounded /ø/ with a silent "x": day-lee-SYUH. Note the "c" before "i" is soft, and the "i" before "eux" becomes a "y" glide, so the last two syllables are lee-SYUH rather than lee-see-UH.

Where English speakers slip

The "-ment" ending gets read as English "ment", with a real "n" and a released "t". It is a nasal vowel and nothing else. Learners also break the "vr" cluster with a vowel, giving "vuh-ray-MENT". Keep it tight, keep the middle vowel flat and open, and let the ending hum through the nose.