How is cat pronounced in French? - briefly
In French, "cat" is pronounced as "chat," with the "ch" sounding like "sh" in English.
How is cat pronounced in French? - in detail
In French, the word for "cat" is "chat" when referring to a male cat and "chatte" for a female cat. The pronunciation of "chat" is /ʃa/, where the "ch" is pronounced as a soft "sh" sound, similar to the English word "shoe." The vowel "a" is pronounced as a short, open "ah" sound, akin to the "a" in the English word "father." The final "t" in "chat" is typically silent in standard French pronunciation. For "chatte," the pronunciation is /ʃat/, with the same "sh" sound for "ch" and the short "ah" for "a." The final "e" in "chatte" is pronounced as a soft, unstressed "uh" sound, and the "t" is pronounced, making it distinct from "chat." The pronunciation of these words can vary slightly depending on regional accents or dialects within the French-speaking world, but the standard pronunciation remains consistent across most contexts.