# Eiffel pronunciation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732 "2026-03-24T16:15:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/1 "2026-03-24T16:15:56Z")
I was just watching a video about Gustav Eiffel, the designer of the Eiffel Tower. And I noticed the narrator was pronouncing his name ee-fell rather than eye-full, which is the pronunciation I’ve always heard. Is ee-fell the correct pronunciation in some contexts? Is that the way French speakers pronounce it? Or does the man’s name have a different pronunciation than the tower? Or was this just an error by the narrator (who is suspect might have been an AI)? ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/2 "2026-03-24T16:22:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And I noticed the narrator was pronouncing his name ee-fell rather than eye-full, which is the pronunciation I’ve always heard. I _think_ that the French pronounciation is more like ee-fell, but I’m no linguist. On a related topic, in UK math classes Euler was always pronounced ‘you-ler’, but recently I hear him called something like ‘oiler’, which may be more authentic for the time? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/3 "2026-03-24T16:30:12Z")
I remember in HS French class the audio that we listened to pronounced it as in the OP, “eff-el.” Wiki agrees. But once a word crosses languages, all bets are off as to how it ends up–as we all well know. I’m guessing that diphthong probably isn’t native/common _en Français_. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/4 "2026-03-24T16:38:09Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > On a related topic, in UK math classes Euler was always pronounced ‘you-ler’, but recently I hear him called something like ‘oiler’, which may be more authentic for the time? FWIW, I’ve never heard anything other than the _oiler_ pronunciation > [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > I remember in HS French class the audio that we listened to pronounced it as in the OP, “eff-el.” Wiki agrees To my poorly-trained ear for French pronunciation, I hear what you note, with the observation that the ‘eff’ part is pinched a bit, leaving it very with a very slight flavor of ‘iff’ in the mix. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/5 "2026-03-24T16:48:17Z")
Wikipedia has an audio pronunciation: > **[File:Tour Eiffel Pronunciation.ogg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tour_Eiffel_Pronunciation.ogg)** > > Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. > You cannot overwrite this file. The following 4 pages use this file: > The following other wikis use this file: And if you think that’s difficult, just try to pronounce [parmesan](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-parmesan/1028593/) 😅 ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/6 "2026-03-24T18:11:19Z")
Just throwing in that Eiffel got his name from ancestors who came from the Eifel region in Germany, which is, in German, actually pronounced eye-fel (with the stress on the first syllable). The French pronunciation is different though. ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/7 "2026-03-24T21:56:27Z")
Native French speaker here. The trick is simple. Just say those two letters back to back: la tour F L. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/8 "2026-03-24T23:49:38Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > I remember in HS French class the audio that we listened to pronounced it as in the OP, “eff-el.” > [@Intelligently\_Designed](#): > > Native French speaker here. The trick is simple. Just say those two letters back to back: la tour F L. To my ears, this seems like a third pronunciation. So we have eye-ful, ee-fel, and eff-el. In case my attempts at phonetic spelling aren’t clear; eye-ful is pronounced to rhyme with rifle, ee-fel is pronounced to rhyme with gleeful but with more of an eh than an uh in the second syllable, and eff-el is pronounced to rhyme with Ethel. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/9 "2026-03-25T00:18:08Z")
Can you link to the video? Are you sure he’s French (or even AI pretending to be French)? Instead of mucking around with ambiguous phonetic spelling, did you see (or rather, hear) the audio pronunciation? [File:Tour Eiffel Pronunciation.ogg - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tour_Eiffel_Pronunciation.ogg) Here’s another one from YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRo4ZDZOplQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRo4ZDZOplQ) For contrast, here’s the German pronunciation for the Eifel region that he’s named after: [File:De-Eifel.ogg - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:De-Eifel.ogg) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/10 "2026-03-25T00:24:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > To my ears, this seems like a third pronunciation. So we have eye-ful, ee-fel, and eff-el. > > In case my attempts at phonetic spelling aren’t clear; eye-ful is pronounced to rhyme with rifle, ee-fel is pronounced to rhyme with gleeful but with more of an eh than an uh in the second syllable, and eff-el is pronounced to rhyme with Ethel. I was indeed unclear on your phonetic spelling. When I saw “eye-ful” I thought you meant it to rhyme with “sighful”, i.e. literally pronouncing the word “eye” there. Whereas I also rhyme it with “rifle”. I _think_ the only difference between eff-el as rhyming with Ethel and just saying the letters “F L” is the emphasis which would be on both syllables in the “F L” version but on the first syllable in the “eff-el” version. Then again, I’ve heard that French uses different rules for stress, which I am not completely familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/11 "2026-03-25T01:27:16Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > When I saw “eye-ful” I thought you meant it to rhyme with “sighful”, i.e. literally pronouncing the word “eye” there. Whereas I also rhyme it with “rifle”. In my dialect sighful and rifle rhyme perfectly. Were you thinking of “riffle”? I also always have heard “oiler” as the pronunciation of Euler, but I’m American. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/12 "2026-03-25T01:35:29Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I also always have heard “oiler” as the pronunciation of Euler Correct. With the ‘eu’ pronounced as it is in _Deutschland_. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/13 "2026-03-25T01:39:37Z")
No, it’s ‘eu’ as in der Schweiz! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/14 "2026-03-25T01:41:20Z")
I pronounce the vowel in rifle the same as the one in sight, might, fight, etc. Whereas the one in “eye” is the same as the one in “sigh”. Unfortunately, Wiktionary is not useful this time for translating into IPA, because according to Wiktionary, “eye” and “sigh” both have a “aɪ” sound in IPA, (so far so good), but sight, might, etc. _also_ have an aɪ sound as their _primary_ American vowel. A lot of those words that have a different vowel for me _do_ have an alternative American vowel listed, but it’s not the same one for all of the words! So I think my dialect has a fight-eye split if that’s a thing but I can’t pinpoint the IPA code for it. The vowel for fight is formed more toward the back of my mouth than “eye” is. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/15 "2026-03-25T01:51:36Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > rifle the same as the one in sight, might, fight, etc. Whereas the one in “eye” is the same as the one in “sigh”. All those words have the exact same vowel sound in my (American) dialect. E.g. sigh and sight are absolutely identical vowel sounds except then you tack a distinctly separate “t” sound on the end of one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/16 "2026-03-25T01:55:22Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Can you link to the video? Are you sure he’s French (or even AI pretending to be French)? No, I don’t think the narrator is French. He seems to have an American accent otherwise. [Here’s the video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u1a82lE6E8) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/17 "2026-03-25T02:50:22Z")
There was a time when I was very confused by the fact that the two mathematicians Euler and Euclid start with completely different vowel sounds. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/18 "2026-03-25T02:57:45Z")
I’m quite confused by what you think is the difference between the vowel in “sigh” and “sight”. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, they are identical in American English, and are also identical in British English (although not the same between those two dialects). It says that in American English, they are /saɪ/ and /saɪt/ respectively, while in British English they are /sʌɪ/ and /sʌɪt/ respectively. When you mention a “fight-eye” split, is that something you’ve read about or did you just invent that to explain the difference in your idiolect? I can find no reference to such a split. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/19 "2026-03-25T03:06:15Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > So I think my dialect has a fight-eye split if that’s a thing I’m confused as to what you thought I meant when I said that I do not know if it is a thing or not. The only place I can find an audio of a minimal difference is in the wiktionary page for wight. Also confusingly, it only has the aɪ pronunciation listed, but has two samples of American english saying “wight”. The _second_ sample is what I pronounce it like. But the wiktionary entry does not say what the IPA for that sound is. > **[wight - Wiktionary, the free dictionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wight)** ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732/20 "2026-03-25T03:31:07Z")
We’ve had a number of threads about pronunciation and the variations between dialects along with individual differences about sounds. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard anyone claim a difference between sigh and sight. When I pronounce them very carefully to discern a difference, I do indeed hear a distinction between the “i” sounds, the first being higher. I don’t read IPA, sadly, so I don’t know if that conforms. But I would never have noticed a difference in ordinary speech, and I have always considered them the same. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eiffel-pronunciation/1028732.md?page=2)