Are you a fashion enthusiast struggling to correctly pronounce luxury brand names in French?
Look no further! In this French pronunciation guide for luxury brands, we’ll show you how to accurately say some of the most iconic fashion names.
Pronounce correctly all fashion brands from Chanel to Yves Saint Laurrent.
Impress your friends with your newfound knowledge next time you go shopping. Let’s dive in and learn how to correctly pronounce luxury brand names in French!
13 Hardest to Pronounce Luxury Brands in French
Feeling like a tongue-tied tourist in Paris? Even the most seasoned linguists can stumble over the names of some of the world’s most luxurious French brands.
From haute couture to haute cuisine, the French language is notorious for its tricky pronunciation.
So, let’s take a stroll down the Champs-Élysées and discover the 13 hardest-to-pronounce luxury brands in French.
Here are the IPA transcriptions for the luxury brand names in French:
Jean Paul Gautier
To correctly pronounce “Jean Paul Gautier” in French, you can follow these steps:
- Pronounce “Jean” as “ʒɑ̃” in French, with a nasal vowel “ɑ̃”, similar to “an” sound in “can’t” or “rant.” The “ʒ” sound is similar to “s” in “measure” or “vision.”
- Pronounce “Paul” with the “ɔ” sound similar to the “o” in “lot” or “hot.”
- Pronounce “Gautier” as “ɡotje” in French, with a hard “g” sound at the beginning, similar to the “g” in “goat.” The “au” sound is pronounced as the “o” in “gone,”
- In the the final “er” sound is pronounced with a slightly muted “e” while you don’t pronounce “r”.
Hermès
- “Hermès” is pronounced as “ɛʁmɛs” in French, with a silent “H” at the beginning.
- The “ɛ” sound is similar to the “e” in “bed” or “let,” but is a little more open.
- The “ʁ” sound is a guttural “r” sound, similar to the “r” in “German” or “rough.” This sound is produced in the back of the throat.
- The second syllable “mès” is pronounced as “mɛs” in French, with a closed “e” sound, similar to the “e” in “get” or “set.”
Christian Dior
- Pronounce “Christian” as “kʁistjɑ̃” in French, with a silent “h” and a nasalized “ɑ̃” sound at the end, similar to the “an” sound in “can’t” or “rant.”
- “Dior” is pronounced as “djɔʁ” in French, with a hard “d” sound at the beginning, similar to the “d” in “day.” The “i” sound is pronounced as the “ee” in “feet,” and the “o” sound is pronounced as the “aw” sound in “law.”
Givenchy
- “Gi” is pronounced as “ʒi” in French, with a “zh” sound similar to the “s” in “pleasure” or “measure.”
- Pronounce “ve” as “vɑ̃” in French, with a nasale vowel “ɑ̃” sound, similar to the “an” sound in “can’t” or “rant.”
- “nchy” is pronounced as “ʃi” in French, with a “sh” sound similar to the “sh” in “shoe” or “wish.”
Louis Vuitton
- Pronounce the first name Louis is pronounced with a silent “s” and a nasale vowel.
- Pronounce the surname Vuitton with the stress on the last syllable, a “vwee” sound, and a nasalized “on” sound.
Longchamp
- “Long” is pronounced as “lɔ̃” in French, with a nasalized “ɔ̃” sound, similar to the “on” sound in “song” or “strong.”
- “champ” is pronounced as “ʃɑ̃” in French, with a “sh” sound for the “ch” and a nasalized “ɑ̃” sound for the “ã.” The “ɑ̃” sound is similar to the “an” sound in “can’t” or “rant.”
Guerlain
- “Guer” is pronounced as “ɡɛʁ” in French, with a hard “g” sound at the beginning, similar to the “g” in “goat.” The “u” sound is pronounced as the “u” in “put,” and the “e” is pronounced with a muted “e” sound.
- “lain” is pronounced as “lɛ̃” in French, with a nasalized “ɛ̃” sound, similar to the “an” sound in “can’t” or “rant.” The final “n” sound is pronounced as a nasal sound.
Yves Saint-Laurent
- “Yves” is pronounced as “iv” in French, with a nasalized “i” sound similar to the “ee” in “feet.” The “v” sound is pronounced like the English “v” sound.
- “Saint-Laurent” is pronounced as “sɛ̃ loʁɑ̃” in French. “Saint” is pronounced with a nasalized “ɛ̃” sound, similar to the” sound in “can’t” or “rant.” The “l” sound in “Laurent” is similar to the “l” sound in “leaf” or “life.”
- The final “t” sound in “Laurent” is silent.
Chanel
Perhaps, this fashion brand has the easiest pronunciation. It means no silent letters, and only the first sound has a specific pronunciation, while the others are pronounced similarly as in English.
- “Ch” is pronounced as “ʃ” in French, similar to the “sh” sound in English words like “shoe” or “sheep.”
- “a” is pronounced as the “a” in “father” or “spa.”
- “n” is pronounced as the “n” in “new” or “now.”
- “e” is pronounced as the “ɛ” sound in French, similar to the “e” in “bed” or “get.”
- “l” is pronounced as the “l” in “love” or “let.”
Caudalie
Caudalie is a French skincare brand known for its use of natural and environmentally friendly ingredients.
The vineyards of Bordeaux inspire the brand’s products.
- “Cau” is pronounced as “ko” in French, with an “o” sound similar to the “o” in “go” or “boat.”
- “Da” is pronounced as “da” in French, with an “a” sound similar to the “a” in “father.”
- “Lie” is pronounced as “li” in French, with an “i” sound similar to the “i” in “lid” or “hit.”
Cartier
- “Car” is pronounced as “kaʁ” in French, with a hard “k” sound at the beginning and an “a” sound similar to the “a” in “father.”
- “tier” is pronounced as “tje” in French, with a soft “t” sound and a combination of the “i” sound and the “e” sound pronounced together, similar to the “yi” sound in the word “yield.”
Comme des garçons
- “Comme” is pronounced as “kɔm” in French, with a silent final “e.”
- The “ɔ” sound is similar to the “o” in “lot” or “hot.”
- “des” is pronounced as “de” in French, without s.
- Pronounce “Garçons” as “ɡaʁsɔ̃” in French, with a nasal vowel and without “s”. The “ç” with cedille is pronounced as the “s”.
- The “o” sound is nasalized and pronounced as the “o” in “gone.”
Moschino
- Pronounce”oschi” as “oskino” in French, with the “o” sound similar to the “o” in “hot” or “pot.” The “sch” sound is not present in French, so it is replaced by a hard “k” sound.
- “no” is pronounced as in English, with the “n” sound followed by a short “o” sound.
French Brands
We hope this guide has helped you to pronounce luxury brand names in French with more confidence and accuracy, whether you’re a fashion enthusiast or simply want to practice your French pronunciation.
From Jean Paul Gaultier to Yves Saint-Laurent, we’ve covered some of the most challenging brand names in French. We found that most French learners struggle with silent letters, nasal vowels, and liaisons in French. We invite you to take your pronunciation further and learn more about the French vowel system.
Learn more about Nasal Vowels in French.
