French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "à droite" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce à droite in French?

à droite is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a dʁwat/. It means “on the right / to the right.” ah DRWAT — the "oi" is a "wa" glide, and the final "t" is pronounced thanks to the silent "e".

ah DRWAT — the "oi" is a "wa" glide, and the final "t" is pronounced thanks to the silent "e".

à droite /a dʁwat/

The phrase peaks on DROITE, with "à" as a quick unstressed lead-in. The whole thing is two beats and should run together without a pause.

Listen: à droite

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Sound it out

à A short open "ah", unstressed. The accent distinguishes it from "a" (has) in writing only.

dr A dental "d" straight into the uvular "r". Tongue tip down, friction at the back of the throat.

oi The "wa" glide, one quick movement.

te A final "t" made audible by the silent "e" after it.

Hear it in a sentence

Tournez à droite après le pont.

Turn right after the bridge.

Listen: Tournez à droite après le pont.

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"Tournez à droite après le pont" is a "vous" imperative, so the verb ends in the silent "-ez" giving a closed "ay": toor-NAY. "Après" ends in an open "eh" with a silent "s", and "pont" is a single nasal beat with both the "n" and the "t" silent: /pɔ̃/. Directions in French almost always use "à" this way.

Where English speakers slip

Read letter by letter, the "oi" comes out as "droh-EET" — but it is a single glide. They also sometimes drop the final "t", having learned that final consonants are usually silent — but the trailing "e" keeps it alive, which is exactly why "droite" sounds different from "droit". The "dr" cluster needs the throat "r", not the curled English one.