French · Difficult words
How to pronounce belle-mère in French
belle-mère
Mother-in-law
French of France · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
belle-mère is pronounced /bɛl.mɛʁ/ in French. In belle-mère: Use gentle friction toward the back of the mouth. Keep the tongue tip relaxed while connecting r to its neighboring vowel. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
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Find the sounds in belle-mère
Read belle-mère in these IPA segments: bɛl · mɛʁ. Dots and stress marks identify the boundaries shown in the reference; these symbols are not English spelling. French prominence belongs to the spoken phrase. Do not impose a heavy English-style stress on every isolated word.
1.The French r /ʁ/
In belle-mère: 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.
2.The open /ɛ/ vowel
In belle-mère: Keep the vowel open, like the vowel in many pronunciations of English “bed”, without a final glide.
Watch out: Avoid turning this vowel into English “ay”.
Hear it in context
Ma belle-mère prépare un rôti.
My mother-in-law is making a roast.
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
belle-mère 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 belle-mère
How do you pronounce belle-mère?
belle-mère is pronounced /bɛl.mɛʁ/ in French. In belle-mère: Use gentle friction toward the back of the mouth. Keep the tongue tip relaxed while connecting r to its neighboring vowel. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
What should I listen for first?
In belle-mère: Use gentle friction toward the back of the mouth. Keep the tongue tip relaxed while connecting r to its neighboring vowel. Start at 0.75×, then return to 1.00× to hear the natural rhythm.
