Pronunciation

How to pronounce “rendezvous

“rendezvous” is pronounced /ˈɹɑndeɪˌvu/ (RON-day-voo) in American English and /ˈɹɒndeɪvuː/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ren”.
The sound

Say “rendezvous” in 3 beats

Say it like this

rendezvous

/ˈɹɑndeɪˌvu/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈɹɒndeɪvuː/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. renɹɑnstress
  2. dezdeɪ
  3. vousvu
IPA (American)
/ˈɹɑndeɪˌvu/
IPA (British)
/ˈɹɒndeɪvuː/
Respelling
RON-day-voo
Syllables
3 — REN-dez-vous
Stress
Stress the first syllable: REN-dez-vous. “ren” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɹɑndeɪˌvu/

British

/ˈɹɒndeɪvuː/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Watch out

Where “rendezvous” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    REN-dez-vus

    the z and the final s are both silent: RON-day-voo

Meaning

What “rendezvous” means

  1. noun

    a meeting planned at a certain time and place

  2. noun

    a place where people meet

    he was waiting for them at the rendezvous

  3. noun

    a date; usually with a member of the opposite sex

Say it in a sentence

They agreed on a rendezvous at the café near the bridge.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

rendezvous”, answered

How do you pronounce “rendezvous”?

“rendezvous” is pronounced /ˈɹɑndeɪˌvu/ (RON-day-voo) in American English and /ˈɹɒndeɪvuː/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ren”. Build it as REN-dez-vous, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “rendezvous” have?

3: ren · dez · vous. The beat lands on the first, “ren”.

Is “rendezvous” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɹɑndeɪˌvu/ (RON-day-voo); British English says /ˈɹɒndeɪvuː/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “rendezvous” mean?

As a noun: a meeting planned at a certain time and place For example: “They agreed on a rendezvous at the café near the bridge.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “rendezvous”?

Stress the first syllable: REN-dez-vous. “ren” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “rendezvous” and see every sound

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