4 syllables: Le Cor, bu, si, er. Stress on Le Cor.
LUH KAWR-byoo-see-ur
/ˈlə ˈkɔɹ.bjuː.si.ɚ/
Le Corbusier is pronounced LUH KAWR-byoo-see-ur (/ˈlə ˈkɔɹ.bjuː.si.ɚ/). It has four syllables (Le Cor-bu-si-er), with the stress on "Le Cor". Le Corbusier is the pen name of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, a pivotal 20th‑century architect and theorist who helped shape modernist design. The name is widely associated with his architectural philosophy and writings, and it is used as a proper noun in scholarly and lay discussions alike. The French pronunciation emphasizes the surname while keeping the given name compact and distinct in English discourse.
nounLe Corbusier is the pen name of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, a pivotal 20th‑century architect and theorist who helped shape modernist design. The name is widely associated with his architectural philosophy and writings, and it is used as a proper noun in scholarly and lay discussions alike. The French pronunciation emphasizes the surname while keeping the given name compact and distinct in English discourse.
How to Pronounce Le Corbusier
"Le Corbusier’s skyline designs inspired a generation of architects."
"The Le Corbusier Foundation preserves his original plans and models."
"In architecture courses, we study Le Corbusier’s five points of a new architecture."
Pronounce as luh KOR-byoo-ZHAY-AY in an anglicized version, with main stress on the second syllable of the surname: Le COR-bu-zye-YAY? Wait, correct approach: The common English rendering is lə KOR-byoo-ZYAY. IPA: US: lə kɔɹ.byuzjeɪ; UK: lə ˈkɔː.bjuː.zi.eɪ. The emphasis lands on the syllable that carries the main vowel and you should round your lips slightly for the final -ier to approximate ZHAY. In careful pronunciation, produce the French -ier roughly as -ee-AY, with a rising final vowel.
Mistakes include anglicizing the surname to a hard English -zje sound, and misplacing stress on the last syllable or the first. Correct the middle syllable to sound like ‘byoo’ rather than ‘buh-ruh’ and finish with ‘-zhay’ rather than ‘-zier’ as in ‘tzyer’. Use IPA as guide: kɔɹ.byuzjeɪ or kɔː.bjuː.zi.eɪ depending on accent. Practice by isolating each syllable: Le (lə) + Cor (kɔɹ) + bu (byu) + sier (zjɪeɪ).
In US English, you’ll hear lə KOR-byoo-ZYAY; UK speakers often emphasize the second syllable with a clearer -bju- sound and a more open final -ay: luh-KOR-byoo-zye. Australian pronunciation tends toward a smoother, flatter final -ee-uh or -zhuh-yer sound, glossed as lə KOR-byoo-zhe-ye. Core vowels kɔɹ, byu, zjeɪ are consistent, but the rhotics and vowel length differ subtly by region.
It blends a French surname with an English rendering, including a rare combination of letters in -cier and the zh-like final sound. The mid syllable requires a rounded, palatal blend ‘byu’ rather than a simple ‘by’ or ‘bu’ sound, and the final -ier often lands as a diphthong that English speakers approximate as -ay. The stress pattern isn’t obvious from spelling, so listeners often misplace emphasis on the wrong syllable, compounding the challenge.
In standard French, the -ier corresponds to a syllable pronounced roughly as ‘ee-AY’ with an audible final vowel. In many English renderings, the final -ier becomes a voiced ‘-zhe-ye’ or ‘-zyay’ sequence; the e at the end is often reduced, and the last vowel’s presence depends on the speaker’s accent. The key is to maintain an audible final -ay or -ye sound rather than dropping the last vowel entirely. IPA cues help: final -jer or -zier approximations hug the /zjeɪ/ or /zjə/ sound in practice.
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Le Corbusier is a pseudonym adopted by Charles-Édouard Jeanneret in 1920s Zurich and Paris. The surname combines the French article le with the given name Corbusier, derived from a Lucerne family line? The actual etymology is intertwined with Jeanneret’s personal branding rather than a literal compound. He chose Le Corbusier after a distant ancestor, balancing French elegance and Swiss roots. The term gained international prominence as he published the architectural manifesto and designed iconic buildings, embedding the name in architectural lexicon by mid‑20th century. First widely circulated during his early career in the 1920s, the name became a stable, recognized label for his groundbreaking approach to volume, light, and function, eventually standing as a mark of modernist modern design worldwide.
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Words that rhyme with "Le Corbusier"
-ier sounds
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