Pronouncing "est" and "et" in French

How to pronounce est and et in French

A little pronunciation guide showing the difference in how you pronounce the words est and et in French

What do the words "est" and "et" mean?

The word est means is.
The word et means and.

You pronounce the two words in slightly different ways.

est — like the e in the word “fed”
et — like the vowel sound in the word “pay”

If you’ve seen the guide that talks about the difference in pronunciation between é and è, you’ll see similarities with est and et.

est is pronounced just like è
et is pronounced just like é

"AI" sounds like "est"

The letters “ai”, “ais” or “ait” are pronounced just like the “e” in “fed”, when they’re on the end of a word. This means they’re pronounced the same as the word “est” or the letter “è” in French. There are lots of words in French that end in the letters “ai”, “ais” and “ait”

parfait — perfect (“par-FEH”)
mais — but (“meh”)
je voudrais — I would like (“jsheugh voo-DREH”)

"ER" sounds like "et"

When the letters “er” are at the end of a verb in French, they are pronounced just like the vowel sound in the word “pay”, meaning they’re pronounced the same as the word “et” or the letter “é” in French.

parler — to speak (“par-LAY”)
acheter — to buy (“ash-TAY”)
aller — to go (“ah-LAY”)

Let's practise

Let’s practise the pronunciation rules for saying the words “est” and “et”, as well as the rules for pronouncing the letters “ai”, “ais”, “ait” and “er” when they come at the end of a word. Have a go at pronouncing these words in French:

travaillais (was working)
habiter (to live)
n’est pas (isn’t)
et (and)
c’est (it is)
louer (to hire)
s’il vous plaît (please)
manger (to eat)
français (French)
jouer (to play)

ANSWERS

“trah-vah-YEH”
“ah-bee-TAY”
“neh-PAH”
“ay”
“seh”
“loo-AY”
“seel voo PLEH”
“mon-JSHAY”
“fron(g)-SEH”
“jshoo-AY”

In context

It’s always good to look at rules in context, because it helps to solidify them in your mind. Let’s read through some of the lyrics from the song Ainsi bas la vida by the French singer-songwriter, Indila, and focus on the words “et” and “est” or any words that end in “ai”, “ais”, “ait” or “er”.

AINSI BAS LA VIDA

C'était un triste soir comme il y en a par milliers
Quand cet homme est venu me voir pour parler
Et même s'il était tard, qu'on m'attendait pour dîner
Je savais que c'était lui que j'attendais

Et je l'ai vu sourire
J'ai vu ses yeux me dire
Noyer dans un soupire, reste à mes côtés
J'ai pu sentir son cœur
Vibrer à 100 à l'heure
Et soudain j'ai pris peur quand je les entendais me dire

Non, mais qu'est-ce que tu t'embêtes
Tu t'prends la tête
Ce gars-là n'est pas net et il est fauché
Allez, viens sois pas bête
Je t'en prie arrête
J'suis sûr qu'il ne reflète pas vraiment ce qu'il est

c'était — it was (“say-TEH”)
milliers — thousands (“mee-lee-AY”)
est — is (“eh”)
parler — to speak (“par-LAY”)
et — and (“ay”)
était — was (“ay-TEH”)
m’attendait — was waiting for me (“mah-ton(g)-DEH”)
dîner — to have dinner (“dee-NAY”)
savais — knew (“sah-VEH”)
j’attendais — I was waiting (“jshah-ton(g)-DEH”)
je l’ai — I have it (“jsheugh leh”)
j’ai — I have (“jsheh”)
noyer — to drown (“nwah-YAY”)
vibrer — to vibrate (“vee-BRAY”)
entendais — heard (“on(g)-ton(g)-DEH”)
n’est pas — isn’t (“neh PAH”)
allez — go (“ah-LAY”)
vraiment — really (“vreh-MON(g)”)

EZ

I just wanted to point out something that you might have noticed in the “in context” section. I included the word “allez” in the list above, and that’s because the letters “ez”, when they appear on the end of a word, are pronounced the same as “er”.

So, “aller” and “allez” are pronounced exactly the same. Have a look at these pairs of words:

parler – to speak (“par-LAY”)
parlez – speak (“par-LAY”)

aller – to go (“ah-LAY”)
allez – go (“ah-LAY”)

louer – to hire (“loo-AY”)
louez – hire (“loo-AY”)

vraiment

Finally, you might have also noticed that I included “vraiment” in the list, as well. And that’s simply because the “ai” in the middle is pronounced like any other “ai” in French

vraiment – really (“vreh-MON(g)”)