How to pronounce 'Hors d'oeuvre'

28 Apr 2022 · 1 min

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Short YouTube pronunciation tutorial (presenter: Hadar Shemesh) that explains how to say the French-derived phrase "hors d'oeuvre" in English. The video defines the term as an "appetizer, a starter," then gives a syllable-by-syllable phonetic breakdown: do not pronounce the H; lower jaw and round lips for the first syllable; use a light, soft d followed by r and v consonants for the second syllable. The clip ends with example utterances ("Hors d' oeuvres", "Let's get some hors d' oeuvres").

How to pronounce hors d'.
Oeuvre.
An hors d' oeuvre is an appetizer, a starter. And even though this word is derived from French, when you use it in English, you might want to use the English pronunciation. Here's how you pronounce it. The first syllable.
Is or you do.
Not pronounce the H. You just drop your jaw round your lips a little bit for the and.
Then bring the.
Tongue up at the end slightly for.
The r. Or.
The second syllable.
Is derve.
It's a light, soft d sound, and then an r and a V. Think of it just like three consonants.
D', oeuvre, d'. Oeuvre. Hors d', oeuvre.
Hors d'. Oeuvre. Let's get some hors d'. Oeuvres. I'm so starving.
Hors d' oeuvres.