Alright, so today I wanted to share a little something I wrestled with for a bit: how on earth do you say “Comme des Garçons”? Yeah, that one. For the longest time, I’d see it written, and my brain would just kind of… well, stumble.
My first attempts, if I’m being honest, were probably something like “Comm-dez-GAR-kons,” super anglicized, you know? Like really hitting that ‘S’ at the end of ‘Garçons’ hard. I’d see it, nod, and mentally mispronounce it, blissfully unaware.
Then, as it happens, I was watching some fashion show recap online, or maybe it was an interview, and I heard someone say it. It sounded so smooth, so… French. And I was like, “Hold on a minute, that’s NOT how I’ve been saying it in my head!” It was one of those little “aha!” moments where you realize you’ve been slightly off-key for a while.
So, I decided I actually needed to figure this out. My process was pretty straightforward, really. I grabbed my phone, opened up a browser, and typed in the classic query: “how to pronounce Comme des Garçons.” You know the drill.
Up popped a few videos and those little speaker icons you can click. I listened to a few different ones, mostly from native French speakers. That’s always the best way, I find. Hearing it from the source.
Here’s what I gathered and started practicing:
- Comme: This isn’t “comb” like for your hair, or “come” like “come here.” It’s softer. More like “KOM.” The ‘e’ is pretty silent.
- des: This one’s short and sweet. Not “dez” with a ‘z’ sound. It’s more like “DEH.” Almost like the ‘de’ in ‘define’ but way quicker. Some people even say it so fast it sounds like ‘duh’.
- Garçons: This was the trickiest part for me. That ‘ç’ (the ‘c’ with the little tail, a cedilla) is an ‘S’ sound. So it’s “Gar-SON.” And the “on” isn’t like “on and off.” It’s that French nasal sound. You kind of say “aw” but let the sound come through your nose a bit, and the ‘n’ is super subtle, almost not there. So, “Gar-SAWN” (with a nasal ‘awn’).
So, I started piecing it together. KOM DEH GAR-SAWN. I said it out loud a few times, slowly at first, then trying to get the flow. Felt a bit daft talking to myself, practicing a brand name, but hey, that’s how you learn, right?
It’s not about being perfectly Parisian or anything. For me, it was just about getting it, you know, reasonably correct, so I don’t sound completely clueless if it ever comes up in conversation. It’s funny how these little things can stick in your mind until you sort them out. Now, at least, I feel a bit more confident with this one!
