One syllable: coeur.
koor
/kuɹ/
coeur is pronounced koor (/kuɹ/). It has one syllable (coeur), with the stress on "coeur". coeur is a French noun meaning the heart. Used both literally and figuratively, it signals emotion or central importance in phrases. In English-language contexts you’ll often see the word as a loanword in literary or culinary discourse, retaining a distinctly French pronunciation that hints at its accented origins.
coeur is a French noun meaning the heart. Used both literally and figuratively, it signals emotion or central importance in phrases. In English-language contexts you’ll often see the word as a loanword in literary or culinary discourse, retaining a distinctly French pronunciation that hints at its accented origins.
- You often substitute the French /œ/ vowel with /o/ or /ɔ/, which makes the word sound off. To fix, practice with minimal pairs that contrast /œ/ and /o/; keep lips rounded and mid-high tongue position. - The /ʁ/ is crucial; many English speakers default to a harsh /ɹ/ or a guttural stop. Try a light uvular fricative behind the soft palate and avoid tipping the tongue forward. - Stress is minimal (one syllable), but ensure you avoid an extra vowel; end with a crisp, short /ʁ/. Practice with a slow, deliberate curve of the lips.
"Le cœur du problème est simple à décrire."
"Elle a senti son cœur s’ouvrir devant tant de gentillesse."
"Ce plat est délicieux; c’est écrit de tout son cœur."
Pronounce it as /kœʁ/ in standard French. The initial /k/ is a hard ‘k’ as in couper. The vowel is the rounded front vowel /œ/ (lip rounding without backness) similar to the vowel in “bird” but with rounded lips. The final /ʁ/ is a uvular fricative commonly realized as a voiced gargled sound; for English speakers, it can be softened to a post-alveolar approximant /ʁ/. Put it together: k-œ-ʁ, with a smooth, clipped coda and no extra syllable stress; the word is one syllable. You’ll benefit from a light almost-sealed lips posture for /œ/ and a relaxed uvular /ʁ/.
Common errors include: 1) Pronouncing the vowel as a plain /o/ or /ɔ/ instead of /œ/—keep lips rounded and mid-front; 2) Replacing the French /ʁ/ with an English /ɹ/ or /r/—use a post-velar, uvular gesture and let it be a voiced fricative; 3) Over-emphasizing the final consonant—often, the /ʁ/ ends with a muffled release. Practice with minimal pairs and focus on lip rounding and a relaxed throat to avoid a harsh r.
In standard Parisian French, /kœʁ/ with a lively /ʁ/. In some Quebec or Acadian speech, you might hear a tighter /ʁ/ or even a glottal-like stop in rapid speech; in some Belgium or Swiss variants, the vowel quality can drift toward /ø/ or hybridized vowels and a more pronounced rhotic. In English-dominant regions, learners often deliver /kɜːr/ or /kɜː(r)/; advanced speakers preserve the French vowel quality /œ/ and endeavor to approximate the uvular /ʁ,/.
The difficulty centers on the vowel /œ/ which is rare in English and requires precise lip rounding, and the uvular /ʁ/ which many learners struggle to articulate, often defaulting to a rolled or alveolar /ʀ/ or /ɹ/. Additionally, the single-syllable structure with a closed, tight vowel demands a controlled, compact mouth position and a smooth, frictionless ending for a natural signal to native ears.
Yes—French coeurs are typically reduced in casual speech: syllabic voicing remains, but the vowel can centralize slightly and the /ʁ/ can become less robust in rapid speech. In careful speech, maintain a distinct /œ/ with rounded lips and a clear, though soft, uvular /ʁ/. The key is balance: a crisp onset, rounded vowel, and a breathy, controlled ending.
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- US: approximate /kœʁ/ but you’ll often hear /kɜːɹ/; focus on bringing upper lip to a rounded position for /œ/ while keeping the tongue near the palate; use a soft American rhotic touch in /ʁ/. - UK: more likely to use a non-rolled /r/; practice with a slightly lower vowel height than /œ/ but keep lip rounding; keep the final /ʁ/ subtle and breathy. - AU: tends toward flatter vowel realization; attempt the /œ/ with vocalic rounding but expect a more relaxed /ʁ/. IPA: /kœʁ/ for all three but vary lip rounding and throat tension accordingly.
Coeur derives from the Latin cor, cordis meaning heart, a root shared with many Romance languages. The Old French cuer/coeor absorbed the Latin form through the transition from Latin to Old French phonology, with initial c evolving in spelling while pronounced as /k/ in medieval French. By the Middle French period, the term reflected both the anatomical heart and the seat of emotion, a semantic extension reinforced by religious and literary usage. The modern pronunciation in French is [køʁ], with the final rhotic consonant preserved in careful speech; historically, the final r often influenced earlier pronunciation in some dialects. As French loanwords entered other languages, especially English, coeur retained a distinctly French vowel quality and final syllabic flavor, signaling elegance, romance, and culinary connotation. First known written attestations appear in medieval manuscripts, where references to heart and metaphorical love were common, and by the 18th–19th centuries the word appeared in dictionaries as the standard French term for heart, adopted into literature and gastronomy with its evocative aura. In modern usage across Francophone regions, it remains central to expressions of affect and interior life, and in cuisine, it designates dishes and sauces (coeur de bœuf, cheese with heart-shaped form) while continuing to populate poetry and film dialogues as a symbol of inner life and passion.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "coeur" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "coeur"
-eur sounds
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