French · Everyday expressions
How to pronounce à l'heure in French
à l'heure
On time
French of France · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
à l'heure is pronounced /a l‿œʁ/ in French. In à l'heure: Keep your tongue toward the front while rounding your lips. /y/ is close to an “ee” tongue position with rounded lips; /ø/ and /œ/ are more open. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
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Find the sounds in à l'heure
The reference transcription for à l'heure is /a l‿œʁ/. Read adjacent consonants together without inserting extra vowels. French prominence belongs to the spoken phrase. Do not impose a heavy English-style stress on every isolated word.
1.Rounded front vowels
In à l'heure: Keep your tongue toward the front while rounding your lips. /y/ is close to an “ee” tongue position with rounded lips; /ø/ and /œ/ are more open.
Watch out: English “oo” puts the tongue too far back for these vowels.
2.The French r /ʁ/
In à l'heure: Use gentle friction toward the back of the mouth. Keep the tongue tip relaxed while connecting r to its neighboring vowel.
Watch out: Avoid a strong English curled r or adding a vowel before the consonant.
3.An open vowel
In à l'heure: Open the jaw for the a-like vowel shown in the IPA. Keep it continuous and follow the recording’s tongue position.
Watch out: Do not substitute the English diphthong in “day”.
Hear it in context
Bonne nouvelle : le TGV est à l'heure.
Good news: the TGV is on time.
Listen once, say it aloud, then replay at 1.00×. Keep the word connected to the surrounding sentence rather than giving every syllable equal weight.
Pronunciation and variety
à l'heure is presented using French of France. Regional accents and connected speech can change details. The isolated word and the example let you compare the dictionary form with a short spoken context.
The English-style respelling is approximate. Use the IPA and recording together for vowel quality and consonants that do not have an exact English equivalent.
Meaning and everyday use
Questions about à l'heure
How do you pronounce à l'heure?
à l'heure is pronounced /a l‿œʁ/ in French. In à l'heure: Keep your tongue toward the front while rounding your lips. /y/ is close to an “ee” tongue position with rounded lips; /ø/ and /œ/ are more open. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
What should I listen for first?
In à l'heure: Keep your tongue toward the front while rounding your lips. /y/ is close to an “ee” tongue position with rounded lips; /ø/ and /œ/ are more open. Start at 0.75×, then return to 1.00× to hear the natural rhythm.
