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How to pronounce genre

Genre is pronounced ZHAHN-ruh in American English and ZHON-ruh in British English. It has two syllables with the stress on the first. It starts with the zh sound, as in vision.

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  • 2 syllables
  • Stress on ZHAHN
  • US and UK IPA
  • Checked in Cambridge and Oxford

genre

Two syllables, stress on the first

noun · a type of art, music, film or writing

  1. ZHAHNʒɑːn (stressed)
  2. ruhrə
  • US /ˈʒɑːn.rə/ZHAHN-ruh Recorded voice
  • UK /ˈʒɒn.rə/ZHON-ruh Your device’s voice

IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Cambridge also lists a more French British form, /ˈʒɑ̃ː.rə/. The recording is American English.

Genre, sound by sound

Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.

US American English/ˈʒɑːn.rə/

  1. ZHAHNstressed

    • /ʒ/as in vision
    • /ɑː/as in father
    • /n/as in now

  2. ruh

    • /r/as in red
    • /ə/as in about

UK British English/ˈʒɒn.rə/

  1. ZHONstressed

    • /ʒ/as in vision
    • /ɒ/as in hot (UK)
    • /n/as in now

  2. ruh

    • /r/as in red
    • /ə/as in about

Say genre yourself

Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes genre, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.

Tip. Start with the zh of vision, not j. Say ZHAHN-ruh (US) or ZHON-ruh (UK).

Record yourself and play it next to our recording: the quickest way to hear a difference.

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genre

    Common genre pronunciation mistakes

    What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say ZHAHN-ruh.

    • NotJAHN-ruh

      Starting with j. The word starts with the soft zh of vision.

    • NotZHAHN-er

      Ending in the US r sound. The final vowel is a weak uh.

    • Notzhahn-RUH

      Stressing the second syllable. The stress is on the first.

    Genre in a sentence

    Hear each one, slow it down, then say it. Words change a little when they join others, so practise them in sentences too.

    • What is your favorite genre of music?

    • Horror is not my favorite genre.

    • I enjoy this genre of film.

    How do you say genre?

    Genre is a French word, and it keeps a French start: zh, the sound in vision and measure. English does not usually have this sound at the start of a word, so learners say j, as in gem. Both dictionaries list zh.

    The ending is also not what it looks like. The re is a weak uh, so the word is ZHAHN-ruh, with the n and r side by side. In British English, Cambridge also lists a more French form, with a nasal vowel.

    Genre came from French, from Latin genus, meaning kind or type. English also took genus and gender from the same root, which is why genre means a kind of art.

    Words that sound like genre

    Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.

    More words from other languages

    All 170 difficult words

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