how to pronounce étaient

/e.tɛ/

audio example by a male speaker

audio example by a female speaker

the above transcription of étaient is a detailed (narrow) transcription according to the rules of the International Phonetic Association; you can find a description of each symbol by clicking the phoneme buttons in the secction below.

étaient is pronounced in two syllables

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1.

2. example pitch curve for pronunciation of étaient

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video examples of étaient pronunciation

An example use of étaient in a speech by a native speaker of standard french:

“… sorti du bois ils étaient ce samedi à un …”

meanings of étaient

verb:

Third-person plural imperfect indicative of être.

étaient frequency in french - A1 level of CEFR

the word étaient occurs in french on average 360.1 times per one million words; this frequency warrants it to be in the study list for A1 level of language mastery according to CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference.