# French pronunciation question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 16, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-pronunciation-question/829673 "2019-02-16T15:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-pronunciation-question/829673/1 "2019-02-16T15:47:11Z")
I am learning how to bake French Country Bread and the books I read refer to starter or leaven as “levain”. Not being a French speaker I have no idea how to pronounce levain. Can someone teach me how to pronounce levain? I don’t trust google translate. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-pronunciation-question/829673/2 "2019-02-16T16:03:27Z")
> **[How To Pronounce Levain Bakery: Levain Bakery pronunciation](https://www.pronouncekiwi.com/Levain%20Bakery)** > > How do you say Levain Bakery? Listen to the audio pronunciation of Levain Bakery on pronouncekiwi Second button here. It’s in the context of the name of a NY bakery, but the second one has a French woman saying the “levain” part with French pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-pronunciation-question/829673/3 "2019-02-16T16:14:12Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I am learning how to bake French Country Bread and the books I read refer to starter or leaven as “levain”. Not being a French speaker I have no idea how to pronounce levain. > > Can someone teach me how to pronounce levain? I don’t trust google translate. Le as in “le”; the “ain” should be a nasal vowel (as in “pain”, “vin”, etc) that does not really correspond with English so it’s better to listen to people saying it than to try to figure out a paragraph-long written explanation of how to pronounce it. Try [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5pFy\_pu-Tw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5pFy_pu-Tw) ; you want the ɛ̃ sound. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-pronunciation-question/829673/4 "2019-02-16T16:23:19Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > [http://www.pronouncekiwi.com/Levain%20Bakery](http://www.pronouncekiwi.com/Levain%20Bakery) > > Second button here. It’s in the context of the name of a NY bakery, but the second one has a French woman saying the “levain” part with French pronunciation. Thanks. That works. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-pronunciation-question/829673/5 "2019-02-16T16:34:06Z")
Google Translate’s pronunciation is exactly the same as Pronouncewiki’s. I don’t see why one would be more trustworthy than the other. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-pronunciation-question/829673/6 "2019-02-16T16:55:25Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Google Translate’s pronunciation is exactly the same as Pronouncewiki’s. I don’t see why one would be more trustworthy than the other. It sounds to me as though Google Translate is synthesized, whereas the example on PronounceWiki is a real person. In any event, I wasn’t addressing the issue of which is more trustworthy in general, I know how it’s pronounced and I was just looking for a clear example for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-pronunciation-question/829673/7 "2019-02-17T21:44:23Z")
Just a note on the word. At least in Quebec, levain is used for a sourdough starter, while levure is used for the yeast itself The label on my Fleischmann’s is levure seche active (active dry yeast).