French · Food & drink

How to pronounce légume in French

légume

Vegetable

leh-güm/le.ɡym/

French of France · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.

légume is pronounced /le.ɡym/ in French. In légume: 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 légume

Read légume in these IPA segments: le · ɡym. 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. 1.Rounded front vowels

    In légume: 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. 2.A steady /e/ vowel

    In légume: 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.

Hear it in context

Ce légume se mange cru ou cuit.

This vegetable can be eaten raw or cooked.

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

légume 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 légume

How do you pronounce légume?

légume is pronounced /le.ɡym/ in French. In légume: 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 légume: 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.

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