# How do you pronounce fiance and fiancee **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 9, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272 "2012-02-09T03:55:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/1 "2012-02-09T03:55:35Z")
What is the difference in pronounciation between those words? I don’t hear them spoken much, so I can’t guess. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/2 "2012-02-09T03:56:40Z")
I always pronounce them the same. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/3 "2012-02-09T04:08:22Z")
As far as I know, there’s no audible difference in the words. They’re loanwords from French which likes to do things like that. Another less well-known example is brunette/brunet. I’m a brunet and my sister is a brunette. (But I, like many other progressive people, wouldn’t bat an eye if you chose one gendered form and used it without exception.) ---
**Author:** ![radar1974](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6de8d8/32.png) [@radar1974](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/radar1974)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/4 "2012-02-09T08:19:33Z")
I wold agree that in spoken form there is no difference, as I cannot think of an example where you would not know the sex of the person referred to in the sentence you were using it. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/5 "2012-02-09T08:25:33Z")
> [@radar1974](#): > > I wold agree that in spoken form there is no difference, as I cannot think of an example where you would not know the sex of the person referred to in the sentence you were using it. A gay couple? (If you don’t know the speaker is gay) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/6 "2012-02-09T08:28:29Z")
Both of them are pronounced fee-YON-say. I’m guessing that people in the US do what they normally do to French loan words, which is to emphasize the final syllable? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/7 "2012-02-09T08:42:38Z")
In French, they’re pronounced the same, but you can tell the difference from the article/pronoun - _mon fiancé_ but _ma fiancée_. English doesn’t have this helpful feature, so I guess you have to rely on context to determine the gender - if you need to. After all, the word “spouse” isn’t gendered, and it doesn’t seem to cause a great problem, even where gay couples are involved. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/8 "2012-02-09T09:57:11Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Both of them are pronounced fee-YON-say. > > I’m guessing that people in the US do what they normally do to French loan words, which is to emphasize the final syllable? Do most Americans do that? I’ve always heard it pronounced as you wrote it, and yeah, same for both genders. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/9 "2012-02-09T16:12:10Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > Do most Americans do that? I’ve always heard it pronounced as you wrote it, and yeah, same for both genders. The pattern holds for other words, but apparently not for this one. I do hear it when an American is affecting a French accent, though. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/10 "2012-02-09T16:22:33Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I’m guessing that people in the US do what they normally do to French loan words, which is to emphasize the final syllable? I’ve always heard the accent on the second syllable. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/11 "2012-02-09T17:28:17Z")
fee-YON-say. Both times. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fiance-and-fiancee/612272/12 "2012-02-09T17:29:47Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > fee-YON-say. Both times. Agreed.+