chef
/shĕf/
noun
- A chief or head person.
- The head cook of large establishment, as a club, a family, etc.
- (Her.) Same as Chief.
It helps if you understand the origins of the words. Chair has been in the English language for a long time. Chef is a more recent borrowing from French, and hence is still pronounced the French way.
Answer from mikeagg on Stack ExchangeReddit
reddit.com › r/french › pronunciation of "chefs"
r/French on Reddit: Pronunciation of "Chefs"
December 8, 2022 -
Is the "f" in the word "chefs" (the plural of "chef") pronounced, or does the plural render it silent, as is the case with "oeufs" (eggs) and "boeufs" (oxen)?
Top answer 1 of 2
9
In most uses /f/ is still pronounced in the plural, but note that in the compound "chefs d'oeuvre" ('masterpieces') there is no pronounced [f]! (This is also true of the singular for the compound.)
2 of 2
6
I agree with jlamonta. " Une rencontre de chefs" " les chefs de l'armée ": yes, you will pronounce the F.
Forvo
forvo.com › word › chef
How to pronounce chef in English - Definition and synonyms of chef in English
chef pronunciation in French [fr] Phonetic spelling: ʃɛf · chef pronunciation · Pronunciation by richie (Male from France) Male from France · Pronunciation by richie · User information · Follow · 6 votes Good Bad · Add to favorites · Download MP3 ·
EasyPronunciation
easypronunciation.com › en › french › word › chef
Chef — Pronunciation: HD Slow Audio + Phonetic Transcription
Practice pronunciation of chef and other French words with our Pronunciation Trainer. Try it for free!
Videos
01:30
How to pronounce ''Chef'' correctly in French - YouTube
00:21
How to Pronounce Chef d’Oeuvre in French - YouTube
00:50
How to Pronounce Chef French VS English, Pronunciation Guide - YouTube
01:05
How to Pronounce Chef D'œuvre? (CORRECTLY) - YouTube
00:56
How to Pronounce Sous Chef de Cuisine? (CORRECTLY) English, French ...
00:41
How to Pronounce Sous Chef? (CORRECTLY) English, French Pronunciation ...
HowToPronounce.com
howtopronounce.com › french › chef
Chef pronunciation in French
April 4, 2024 - How to say chef in French? Pronunciation of chef with 3 audio pronunciations, 20 synonyms, 1 meaning, 10 translations, 22 sentences and more for chef.
Wiktionary
en.wiktionary.org › wiki › chef
chef - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Chef, halte hoor. Driver, I'd like to get off the bus here. ... Inherited from Middle French chief, from Old French chief, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Italic *kaput, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-, *kaput-. Doublet of cap.
Top answer 1 of 2
3
It helps if you understand the origins of the words. Chair has been in the English language for a long time. Chef is a more recent borrowing from French, and hence is still pronounced the French way.
2 of 2
3
It would be a fine thing to have no irregularities in languages. But languages were not created at the drawing-board. They evolved over long periods of time. And if a word is borrowed from French as chef ( head or master of the kitchen) then it normally has the French pronunciation and that is /shef/.
It seems you have not yet discovered how many irregularities your mother tongue probably has.
OUINO
ouinolanguages.com › blog › chef-in-french
How to Say “Chef” in French? What is the meaning of “Chef cuisinier”? - OUINO
Le chef jonglait avec des couteaux. The chef juggled with knives. Restaurant Words & Phrases in French.
WordHippo
wordhippo.com › what-is › the › french-word-for-chef.html
How to say chef in French
French words for chef include cuisinier, chef de cuisine, chef cuisinier and cheuf. Find more French words at wordhippo.com!
Collins Dictionary
collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › english-french › chef
French Translation of “CHEF” | Collins English-French Dictionary
French · German · Italian · Spanish · Portuguese · Hindi · Chinese · Korean · Japanese · Translations Summary Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Collocations Conjugations Grammar · Credits × · A2 · COBUILD frequency band · Share × · Credits × · noun · le chef masc ·
Quora
quora.com › Why-is-chef-pronounced-shef
Why is chef pronounced shef? - Quora
*chief is from old French (13c) and at that time /tʃ/ was assigned to ch. *chef is a more recent loan (1800). Modern French assigns /ʃ/ to ch. If the words were anglicized, they would be spelled...
Language Drops
languagedrops.com › word › en › english › french › translate › chef
What is "Chef" in French and how to say it?
Learn the word for "Chef" and other related vocabulary in French so that you can talk about Fine Dining with confidence.
Pronounce
pronounce.tv › home
How to Navigate Pronunciation Challenges with Chef
April 8, 2024 - The correct pronunciation of the word “chef” is “shef.” It is pronounced with a soft “sh” sound at the beginning followed by a short “e” sound and ending with an “f” sound.
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english-french › chef
CHEF | translate English to French - Cambridge Dictionary
chef, capocuoco… · See more · Need a translator? Get a quick, free translation! Translator tool · What is the pronunciation of chef? See the definition of chef in the English dictionary · cheesecake · cheesed off · cheesy · cheetah · chef · chemical ·
Bab.la
en.bab.la › pronunciation › french › chef
What is the pronunciation of 'chef' in French?
Learn how to say 'chef' in French with audio and example in sentences
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › pronunciation › english › chef
CHEF | Pronunciation in English
CHEF pronunciation. How to say CHEF. Listen to the audio pronunciation in English. Learn more.
Quora
quora.com › Why-is-the-word-chef-pronounced-with-a-ch-sound-but-the-words-cheese-and-chemistry-are-not
Why is the word 'chef' pronounced with a 'ch' sound, but the words 'cheese' and 'chemistry' are not? - Quora
Answer (1 of 5): The simple answer is that there is more than one way to pronounce ch. The slightly more thorough answer is that chef comes from French, whereas the others do not. Cheese, or so I’ve read, comes from Old English. You’ll come across this kind of thing alllllllllll the time in Engl...
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › french-english › chef
CHEF | translate French to English - Cambridge Dictionary
CHEF translate: chief, leader, boss, backbone, chef, chief, chieftain, commander, head, leader, ruler. Learn more in the Cambridge French-English Dictionary.
Facebook
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Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › us › definition › english › chef
chef noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com
She used to work as a chef in a big hotel in Johannesburg. see also pastry chef, sous-chefTopics Cooking and eatinga2, Jobsa2 ... Word Originearly 19th cent.: French, literally ‘head’.
Deep English
deepenglish.com › home › how to pronounce
How to Pronounce Chef
April 11, 2025 - Learn pronunciation → · The word 'chef' comes from the French phrase 'chef de cuisine,' meaning 'head of the kitchen,' highlighting its original use for the chief cook, not just any cook. noun · chef · A person who cooks food in a restaurant or hotel, often the main cook.