French · Everyday expressions
How to pronounce excusez-moi in French
excusez-moi
Excuse me
French of France · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
excusez-moi is pronounced /ɛk.sky.ze.mwa/ in French. In excusez-moi: 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 excusez-moi
Read excusez-moi in these IPA segments: ɛk · sky · ze · mwa. 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.Rounded front vowels
In excusez-moi: 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.A steady /e/ vowel
In excusez-moi: Keep /e/ steady from beginning to end. Listen for a clear vowel without the movement at the end of English “day”.
Watch out: The English-style “ay” respelling is only a guide; avoid its final y-like glide.
3.The open /ɛ/ vowel
In excusez-moi: 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
Excusez-moi, je descends.
Excuse me, I'm getting off.
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
excusez-moi 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 excusez-moi
How do you pronounce excusez-moi?
excusez-moi is pronounced /ɛk.sky.ze.mwa/ in French. In excusez-moi: 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 excusez-moi: 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.
