Trap 3 of 22 · French speakers
Stress up front: comfortable, vegetable, chocolate
L'accent tonique en avant : comfortable, vegetable, chocolate
What French speakers do
You give every syllable the same weight and lean on the last one: con-for-TA-ble, vé-gé-TA-ble, cho-co-LAT.
The American rule
Find the one stressed syllable — often the first — and make it long and loud. Squeeze the others; some disappear completely.
French rhythm is even: every syllable gets about the same time, and the last one is a little stronger. English rhythm is the opposite — one syllable is big, the others are small and fast, and some vanish entirely.
The cognates below all have their stress somewhere French doesn't expect, and several lose a syllable:
- comfortable — 4 written syllables, 3 spoken: KUMF-ter-bul
- vegetable — VEJ-tuh-bul (3, not 4)
- chocolate — CHAHK-lit (2, not 3)
- different — DIF-runt (2, not 3)
Stress changes meaning, too: PHO-to-graph but pho-TOG-ra-phy. If you get the stress right, Americans understand you even when a vowel is off. Get it wrong and a word you pronounced perfectly can be missed.
The words
comfortable
/ˈkʌmftɚbəl/
✗kon-for-TA-bluh
✓KUMF-ter-bul
“This chair is really comfortable.”
vegetable
/ˈvɛdʒtəbəl/
✗vé-zhé-TA-bluh
✓VEJ-tuh-bul
“Eat a vegetable with every meal.”
chocolate
/ˈtʃɑklət/
✗sho-ko-LAT
✓CHAHK-lit
“I could eat chocolate every day.”
different
/ˈdɪfrənt/
✗di-fé-RANT
✓DIF-runt
“That's a different story.”
interesting
/ˈɪntrəstɪŋ/
✗an-té-res-TING
✓IN-truh-sting
“That's a really interesting idea.”
restaurant
/ˈrɛstərɑnt/
✗res-to-RAN
✓RES-tuh-rahnt
Say the final T.
“Let's try the new restaurant.”
family
/ˈfæməli/
✗fa-mi-LI
✓FAM-uh-lee
“My family lives in Lyon.”
camera
/ˈkæmrə/
✗ka-mé-RA
✓KAM-ruh
“Turn on your camera, please.”
develop
/dɪˈvɛləp/
✗dé-ve-LOP
✓dih-VEL-up
“We need to develop new skills.”
economy
/ɪˈkɑnəmi/
✗é-ko-no-MI
✓ih-KAHN-uh-mee
“The economy is growing.”
technology
/tɛkˈnɑlədʒi/
✗tek-no-lo-ZHI
✓tek-NAH-luh-jee
“Technology changes fast.”
photograph
/ˈfoʊtəˌɡræf/
✗fo-to-GRAF
✓FOH-duh-graf
“That's a beautiful photograph.”
photography
/fəˈtɑɡrəfi/
✗fo-to-gra-FI
✓fuh-TAH-gruh-fee
Compare with PHO-to-graph: the stress jumps.
“She's passionate about photography.”
important
/ɪmˈpɔrtənt/
✗an-por-TAN
✓im-POR-tunt
“This meeting is important.”