How to pronounce Tour Eiffel in French?
Updated: March 25, 2023 by Mylene in How to PronounceArray ▪
La Tour Eiffel in French
La Tour Eiffel is the most famous monument in Paris and in France. If you plan to visit Paris, la Tour Eiffel, or Eiffel Tower in English, is one of the first words that you’ll absolutely need. Learn the right pronunciation in French and all the interactions will become much easier when you’ll visit Paris!
Eiffel comes from the name of the constructor Gustave Eiffel. He built the Tour Eiffel for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris. Here are a few sentences that include “la Tour Eiffel”:
- Sur la Tour Eiffel, Gustave Eiffel a fait graver 72 noms de scientifiques, ingénieurs ou industriels qui ont honoré la France de 1789 à 1889: On the Eiffel Tower, Gustave Eiffel had engraved 72 names of scientists, engineers or industrialists as they honored France from 1789 to 1889.
- La Tour Eiffel est le symbole de la ville de Paris: The Eiffel Tower is the symbol of the city of Paris.
- La Tour Eiffel scintille toutes les heures la nuit pendant 5 minutes: The Eiffel Tower sparkles every hour at night for 5 minutes.
How to pronounce “Tour Eiffel”?
In French, Tour Eiffel is pronounced /tu.ʁe.fɛl/. In details:
- /t/ sound: To make /t/, place the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your upper teeth (but do not touch the teeth). As you push air out of your mouth, briefly stop it behind your tongue before releasing it. Do not vibrate your vocal cords as you make this sound.
- /u/ sound: The tongue is back, the mouth is slightly open and the lips are rounded.
- /r/ sound: The key to making /r/ is not letting the tip of your tongue touch the roof of your mouth. The tip of the tongue must touch the front lower teeth. Vibrate your vocal cords and let the airflow around and over your tongue.
- /e/ sound: The tongue is forward in the mouth, the tip of the tongue is against the lower teeth and the lips are rounded
- /f/ sound: Place the bottom edges of your upper teeth against the inside of your lower lip. Push air out of your mouth, forcing it between your teeth and lower lip. You should feel some resistance (friction). Do not vibrate your vocal cords when you make this sound.
- /ɛ/ sound: The tongue touches the front lower teeth, the muscles of your lips and mouth should be relaxed.
- /l/ sound: The tip of your tongue should touch the top of your mouth, behind your teeth. Now, vibrate your vocal cords and let the airflow around the sides of your tongue.
You have to pronounce the enchaînement between the word Tour and Eiffel. The consonant r becomes a part of the first syllable of the second word. Tour Eiffel is pronounced like “Tou.reiffel”.
This Instagram video will show you how to pronounce Tour Eiffel in French.
It’s part of our Effortless French words Pronunciation series.
Click the link to listen to this video or directly play the video shown below.
Related Words
Let’s learn the vocabulary you need to know if you want to talk about the Eiffel Tower. I’ll give 8 things you need to know about the Eiffel Tower in French.
- La Tour Eiffel a été construite à partir de 1887 par l’ingénieur français Gustave Eiffel: The Eiffel Tower was built from 1887 by French engineer Gustave Eiffel.
- L’entreprise de Gustave Eiffel a également participé à la construction de la charpente métallique de la Statue de la Liberté: Gustave Eiffel’s company also built the metal framework for the Statue of Liberty.
- La Tour Eiffel a été construite pour être l’une des attractions principales de l’exposition universelle de Paris en 1889: the Eiffel Tower was built to be one of the main attractions at the Paris World’s Fair in 1889.
- La Tour Eiffel a été construite en un temps record: 2 ans, 2 mois et 5 jours: The Eiffel Tower was built in record time: 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days.
- A l’origine la Tour Eiffel était appelée la tour de 300 mètres: The Eiffel Tower was first called the 300 meters Tower.
- L’été la Tour Eiffel est ouverte tous les jours de 9h00 à 0h45: During summer, the Eiffel Tower is open from 9:00 am to 0:45 am.
- La Tour Eiffel a trois étages: le premier étage, le deuxième étage et le sommet.: The Tower has three floors: the 1st floor, 2nd floor and summit.
- Vous pouvez utiliser l’escalier ou l’ascenseur pour accéder aux deux premiers étages. Le sommet est uniquement accessible grâce à l’ascenseur: You can use the stairs or the elevator to reach the first two floors. The ascension from the 2nd floor to the summit is only possible by elevator.
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