French · Food & drink
How to pronounce serviette in French
serviette
Napkin
French of France · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
serviette is pronounced /sɛʁ.vjɛt/ in French. In serviette: 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.
Speak with an AI partner · 7 days free
Find the sounds in serviette
Read serviette in these IPA segments: sɛʁ · vjɛt. 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 serviette: 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 serviette: 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”.
3.A clear /s/
In serviette: Let air pass through a narrow groove near the front of the mouth. Keep the sound unvoiced.
Watch out: Do not add voicing and turn /s/ into /z/.
Hear it in context
Pose la serviette sur tes genoux.
Put the napkin on your lap.
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
serviette 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 serviette
How do you pronounce serviette?
serviette is pronounced /sɛʁ.vjɛt/ in French. In serviette: 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 serviette: 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.
