Reims

Pronounce as /rɛ̃s/ in IPA, with an initial rolled or relaxed r, a nasalized mid-front vowel, and a silent final s. The nasal vowel is similar to the French word for “rain” without pronouncing an ‘n’; keep the jaw relatively closed and allow the velum to nasalize the vowel. Press the tongue high-mid, and finish with a light, breathy release on the nasal vowel before the silent end. You’ll hear it as something like “Rans” with a nasal quality rather than a hard s. Audio references often show a clean nasal vowel close to /ɛ̃/.

Common errors include pronouncing an audible final ‘s’ as /s/ (rehims) and producing a non-nasal /ɛ/ instead of the nasalized /ɛ̃/. Another frequent mistake is lengthening the vowel into /eɪ/ or converting to an English /ɜː/ quality. To correct: keep the vowel nasalized and short, close the velum slightly to create the nasal /̃/; avoid adding a consonant after the vowel; end with a soft, silent consonant—no audible /s/. Use a light, unaspirated onset and a relaxed mouth.

Across accents, US, UK, and AU share the same nasal vowel /ɛ̃/ and a silent final s, but the preceding r and nasal resonance differ: US often has a slightly rhotic quality due to /ɹ/; UK varieties may feature a crisper /ɹ/ or a non-rhotic tendency but still nasalized vowel; Australian may exhibit a slightly broader vowel before nasal, sometimes approaching /eɪ/ coloration but should stay nasalized. In all, the key is maintaining the nasal V sound /ɛ̃/ with a minimal, non-rhythmic consonant after it and keeping the final s silent across dialects.

It’s difficult because the spelling hides a nasal vowel /ɛ̃/ that doesn’t have a direct English equivalent and because the final s is silent, which surprises learners who expect a pronounced consonant. The r-sound before the nasal can vary; ensure you avoid an overt /z/ or /s/ onset and instead produce a quick, nasalized vowel followed by silent s. The key is training your tongue and velum to create the nasal resonance without letting an actual /s/ emerge. Practice with words like French nasal vowels to build familiarity.

The standout feature is the nasal /ɛ̃/ vowel followed by a silent -s; many French place names end with nasal vowels, but Reims emphasizes the nasal vowel and the silent /s/ in a short syllable, making the cluster feel more compressed than typical English spellings would suggest. The preceding /r/ is often less rolled in English speech, and the overall effect is a compact, nasalized vowel with an almost imperceptible final boundary before the silent s. This creates a distinct, almost clipped sound compared to longer French place-names.