French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "écrire" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce écrire in French?

écrire is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /e.kʁiʁ/. It means “to write.” ay-KREER — two throat "r"s, and the final one is fully pronounced.

ay-KREER — two throat "r"s, and the final one is fully pronounced.

écrire /e.kʁiʁ/

é-CRIRE, weight on the second syllable. The word has two "r"s and both are pronounced — unlike "trouver" or "parler", where the second one goes silent.

Listen: écrire

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Sound it out

é The accent aigu gives a closed "ay" /e/, clipped with no glide toward "ee".

cr A hard "k" straight into the uvular "r". Both are back-of-the-mouth sounds, so they flow together naturally once you stop using the tongue tip.

ire A pure "ee" then a second uvular "r", with the final "e" silent. As an -re infinitive, that last "r" is always sounded.

Hear it in a sentence

Écris-moi un message.

Write me a message.

Listen: Écris-moi un message.

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"Écris-moi un message" is an imperative with an attached pronoun, and imperatives require the stressed form "moi" rather than "me". The hyphen is compulsory in writing. "Écris" is /e.kʁi/ with a silent "s", and "un message" carries the nasal /œ̃/ then a "z" sound from the single "s" between vowels: uh-me-SAZH.

Where English speakers slip

The two "r"s both get the American treatment from English speakers, producing "ay-KRYRE" with the tongue curled and the vowels bent. Both belong at the back of the throat. Learners also often mishear the accented "é" as a full English "ay" with a glide — keep it short and closed. And the final "r" must be there, since dropping it would give a form that does not exist.