Wine lifeWine & lifestyle
How to pronounce sommelier, in English, French and other languages
Say it “sum-uhl-YAY” in American English. The British and French versions, the word in Italian, Spanish, German and beyond, the feminine sommelière, and where it comes from.
Updated October 2026
Rewritten by Alper Billik, Advanced Sommelier
3 min read
The short answer: in American English, say sum-uhl-YAY, with the weight on the last syllable. In British English you will also hear som-EL-ee-ay. In French it is so-muh-LYAY: three light syllables, with a small lift at the end. In all three, the r is silent.
In English
| Accent | Say it | Dictionary (IPA) |
|---|---|---|
| American English | sum-uhl-YAY | /ˌsʌm.əlˈjeɪ/ |
| British English | som-EL-ee-ay | /sɒmˈel.i.eɪ/ |
- American English
- Say itsum-uhl-YAY
- Dictionary (IPA)/ˌsʌm.əlˈjeɪ/
- British English
- Say itsom-EL-ee-ay
- Dictionary (IPA)/sɒmˈel.i.eɪ/
Both are correct; the IPA is from the Cambridge Dictionary. The easy way to remember the American version: “sum”, then “uhl”, then a happy “YAY”.
The three most common mistakes
- Saying the r: “sum-uhl-YEER” or “som-el-ee-ER”. The ending -ier rhymes with “day”.
- Ending on “lee”: “som-uh-LEE”. The last sound is “yay”, not “lee”.
- Stressing the start (in American English): “SUM-uhl-yay”. Put the weight on YAY.
In French
Sommelier is a French word: /sɔ.mə.lje/, “so-muh-LYAY”. The middle “e” is light, almost swallowed, and “-lier” is a single syllable, “lyay”. French gives every syllable nearly the same weight, with a small lift on the last. The feminine is sommelière, “so-muh-LYAIR”, and here the r is pronounced.
In other languages
| Language | The word | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Italian | sommelier, the same in the plural (as in the Associazione Italiana Sommelier) | som-meh-LYEH |
| Spanish | sommelier, or the Spanish form sumiller | so-meh-LYEH; soo-mee-YEHR |
| German | Sommelier; feminine Sommelière | so-muh-LYAY or zo-muh-LYAY, weight on the last syllable |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | sommelier | so-meh-lee-EH |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | escanção, or sommelier | ish-kan-SOWN, with a nasal ending |
| Polish | sommelier | so-MEH-lyer, with the r sounded |
| Japanese | ソムリエ (somurie) | so-moo-ree-eh |
- Italian
- The wordsommelier, the same in the plural (as in the Associazione Italiana Sommelier)
- Roughlysom-meh-LYEH
- Spanish
- The wordsommelier, or the Spanish form sumiller
- Roughlyso-meh-LYEH; soo-mee-YEHR
- German
- The wordSommelier; feminine Sommelière
- Roughlyso-muh-LYAY or zo-muh-LYAY, weight on the last syllable
- Portuguese (Brazil)
- The wordsommelier
- Roughlyso-meh-lee-EH
- Portuguese (Portugal)
- The wordescanção, or sommelier
- Roughlyish-kan-SOWN, with a nasal ending
- Polish
- The wordsommelier
- Roughlyso-MEH-lyer, with the r sounded
- Japanese
- The wordソムリエ (somurie)
- Roughlyso-moo-ree-eh
Two of these languages also have a word of their own. The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) lists sumiller in its dictionary, and the language foundation FundéuRAE recommends it over the French form. In Portugal the old court title escanção, once the officer who served the king his wine, is still in use: the national association is the Associação dos Escanções de Portugal.
Where the word comes from
Long before restaurants, a French sommelier drove the pack animals that carried supplies. The word comes from Old French sommier, a packhorse, and goes back to the Latin sagma, a pack-saddle; the same root gives bête de somme, a beast of burden. Over the centuries the title moved from carrying the supplies to caring for the wine, and today it means the wine professional who chooses, looks after and serves it.
Want to know what a sommelier actually does, and how it differs from a wine lover? Read wine connoisseur vs sommelier and the sommelier levels.
Practise it out loud
Wine words are learned by ear. SOMM DIGI AI has a pronunciation tool among its 14 wine tools, and its 35 Certified flashcard decks come with native audio in 9 languages. Say sommelier, then try Gewürztraminer.
Questions people ask
How do you pronounce sommelier in English?
In American English, “sum-uhl-YAY”. In British English, also “som-EL-ee-ay”. Both are correct.
Is the r in sommelier silent?
Yes, in English and in French. The ending sounds like “yay”. In the French feminine, sommelière, the r is pronounced.
What is a female sommelier called?
In English, sommelier is used for everyone. In French and German the feminine is sommelière.
How do you say sommelier in Spanish?
Spanish uses the French word, sommelier, and its own form, sumiller, which the Royal Spanish Academy's dictionary lists and FundéuRAE recommends.
What does sommelier originally mean?
In old French, the person who drove the pack animals carrying supplies. The word goes back to the Latin sagma, a pack-saddle.
For wine lovers · next steps