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How to pronounce lingerie

Lingerie is pronounced lahn-zhuh-RAY in American English and LON-zhuh-ree in British English. It has three syllables, and the stress moves between accents. The g is the zh of vision.

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  • 3 syllables
  • Stress on RAY
  • US and UK IPA
  • Checked in Cambridge and Oxford

lingerie

Three syllables, stress on the third

noun · women's underwear and night clothes

  1. lahnlɑːn
  2. zhuhʒə
  3. RAYreɪ (stressed)
  • US /ˌlɑːn.ʒəˈreɪ/lahn-zhuh-RAY Recorded voice
  • UK /ˈlɒn.ʒər.i/LON-zhuh-ree Your device’s voice

IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Oxford writes the US ending with dʒ and the UK start with a nasal vowel. Cambridge and most speakers use zh. The recording is American English.

Lingerie, sound by sound

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

US American English/ˌlɑːn.ʒəˈreɪ/

  1. lahn

    • /l/as in leg
    • /ɑː/as in father
    • /n/as in now

  2. zhuh

    • /ʒ/as in vision
    • /ə/as in about

  3. RAYstressed

    • /r/as in red
    • /eɪ/as in day

UK British English/ˈlɒn.ʒər.i/

  1. LONstressed

    • /l/as in leg
    • /ɒ/as in hot (UK)
    • /n/as in now

  2. zhuh

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

  3. ree

    • /i/as in happy

Say lingerie yourself

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

Tip. The j sound is zh: lahn-zhuh-RAY (US), LON-zhuh-ree (UK). Not LAN-jer-ee.

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

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lingerie

    Common lingerie pronunciation mistakes

    What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say lahn-zhuh-RAY.

    • NotLAN-jer-ee

      Using j and a short a. The sounds are ah and zh, as in vision.

    • NotLING-guh-ree

      Reading the spelling: ling as in sing. The first syllable is lahn or lon.

    • Notlan-zhuh-REE

      Ending with ee in the US. The US ending is ay: RAY.

    Lingerie 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.

    • She sells lingerie in a small shop.

    • The shop sells lingerie and night clothes.

    • He bought her a gift of fine lingerie.

    How do you say lingerie?

    Lingerie is a French word from linge, linen, and it keeps the soft zh in the middle. English speakers often say j, as in LAN-jer-ee, or LING-guh-ree. The dictionaries list zh.

    The vowel at the start is not the i of sit. In both accents it is a broad ah or o sound followed by a light n, a trace of the French nasal vowel. Do not say ling as in singing.

    The stress changes between accents. In the US it is on the last syllable, lahn-zhuh-RAY. In Britain it is on the first, LON-zhuh-ree. Learn the one for your accent and use it every time.

    Words that sound like lingerie

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

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