French · Difficult words
How to pronounce mal de tête in French
mal de tête
Headache
French of France · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
mal de tête is pronounced /mal də tɛt/ in French. In mal de tête: Keep the vowel open, like the vowel in many pronunciations of English “bed”, without a final glide. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
Speak with an AI partner · 7 days free
Find the sounds in mal de tête
The reference transcription for mal de tête is /mal də tɛt/. 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.The open /ɛ/ vowel
In mal de tête: 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”.
2.An open vowel
In mal de tête: 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
Je reste chez moi, j'ai mal de tête.
I'm staying home; I have a headache.
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
mal de tête 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 mal de tête
How do you pronounce mal de tête?
mal de tête is pronounced /mal də tɛt/ in French. In mal de tête: Keep the vowel open, like the vowel in many pronunciations of English “bed”, without a final glide. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
What should I listen for first?
In mal de tête: Keep the vowel open, like the vowel in many pronunciations of English “bed”, without a final glide. Start at 0.75×, then return to 1.00× to hear the natural rhythm.
