Being able to pronounce words properly in a new language can seem like a total nightmare. People snickering while you say a word you’ve never heard is demoralizing and rude. We don’t want you to abandon your French language classes because you are discouraged. We know there are some really difficult words so we want you to know them and master them before you are forced to read them out in public without a clue of how to say them. It is obviously much easier to know how to pronounce words when you hear them so we’ve included short videos with the correct pronunciation. Here are 15 of the most difficult French words to pronounce!
Some of the Most Difficult French Words to Pronounce
Yaourt/yogourt (yogourt)
If you have a French Canadian teacher, they will call yogurt yogourt (yo-gour) but if you have a French teacher from France, they will say yaourt (ya-ourt) so your pronunciation will depend on your teacher. Both spellings are fine but if you say yaourt in Québec and yogourt in France, they might not understand.
Heureux (happy)
This is an important word to know because it is important to express if you’re happy or not! It is important to remember that you do not pronounce the h nor the x so you’d say eureu. Just remember that the second eu is stronger than the first.
Dessus/dessous (above/below)
French words with double s’s are hard for non-francophones. It sounds like a snake sound and for an Anglophone, it sounds more like a c than a s. When you say these two words, just remember that dessous has the ou sound and not dessus.
Écureuil (squirrel)
Squirrels are everywhere in Québec and France so if you’re visiting one of these places and want to impress your significant other by naming the animal in French, it is easier to do then you might think. It just gets a little more difficult towards the end. Let’s see: é-q-reuil. Just remember that euil makes a eu sound.
Serrure (lock)
Anglophones have trouble rolling their r’s. This is why we included this word on the list. You really have to go slowly: se-rrrrrrru-rrrrrre. Thankfully, this is not a word you really use in your everyday life.
Queue (tail)
Anglos always have a lot of trouble with q’s. The British also say queue but they pronounce it like “q”. In French, the q is stronger and even sounds more like a k and the e at the end is silent. Here is how you should pronounce it: keu.
Mercredi (Wednesday)
Mercredi is a word you should master since you probably have to say it every week. Again, you really have to roll the r’s. Merrrrr-crrrrrrrre-di.
Chirurgie (surgery)
Again with the r’s! Hopefully, you won’t have to use this word too often since no one wants to go through surgery but if you do need to whip this one out, we can help you learn how to pronounce it: chi-rrrrrrrrur-j (sure sounds easy, right?). Don’t forget that you don’t pronounce the e at the end.
Heure (hour)
You might find yourself asking for the time in a foreign French country if your phone dies and you don’t wear a watch! In order for people to understand you, you need to master this small but mighty word. Unlike the English pronunciation, the h and last e are both silent so it sounds like this: eur.
Trois (three)
This is another word you should absolutely know because it is basic French! Un, deux, trois! Here is how to pronounce it: trrrrrrrroi (the s is totally silent!).
Rue (street)
If you’re looking for a specific address or you really want to master these French words with u’s in them, this is a good word to know. You can easily practice saying it pretty much every day so it’s important you can pronounce it properly! Remember: a strong r, and the e is silent. So, it would sound like: rrrrrrrrrrru.
Accueil (reception)
This is a very tricky word because there are so many vowels close together! They are honestly just there to confuse you because it is not that hard to pronounce this word. The ueil is the same as the euil in écureuil even though they are not written the same way! That’s the only thing you really need to remember. This is how you would pronounce accueil: ak-(eu)ueil.
Ennuyer (missing someone or something/to annoy/to bore)
Again, another annoying u word. If you go slowly, you can easily perfect saying this word. If you make a friend while travelling or you meet a cool French exchange student at your school, you want to be able to tell them that you will miss them when they leave! So, here is how you pronounce this word: En (remember, not in)-ui-yé.
Quincaillerie (hardware store)
Wow. Ok, this is not an easy word to say. The mix of q’s, in’s, c’s, aille’s do not help (at all!!). So, we will try to go very slowly: kin-què-ille-ri. Unless you are a plumber or electrician, you won’t really need to use this word often. And, again, you do not pronounce the final e.
Fourrure (fur)
This word is much easier to pronounce compared to the latter. Just remember to roll the r’s and that you the final e is not very prominent. So, it would sound like this: Fou-rrrrrrrrurrrrr(e).
In your opinion, which are the most difficult French words to pronounce?
