How to pronounce Bordeaux

What is Bordeaux?

A major wine region in southwest France known for blended red wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River and the capital of the Gironde department in southwest France. The Romans knew it as Burdigala. The wine region surrounds the city. North of it, the Garonne and the Dordogne meet to form the Gironde estuary, and those waters divide the vineyards into the Left Bank and the Right Bank.

Most Bordeaux is red, and most of it is a blend. On the Left Bank, in the Médoc and Graves, Cabernet Sauvignon usually leads. On the Right Bank, around Saint-Émilion and Pomerol, Merlot leads. Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec are also permitted. The reds are dry, often with blackcurrant and plum flavors and firm tannins.

The region also makes dry whites from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, and sweet wines such as Sauternes. On a label, plain Bordeaux or Bordeaux Supérieur is a regional appellation that can come from anywhere in the area. A village name such as Pauillac or Margaux points to a smaller, more specific zone. In Britain, red Bordeaux is traditionally called claret.

Bordeaux, syllable by syllable

Why Bordeaux is hard to say

French writes the sound o in several ways, and eau is one of them. The four letters eaux still stand for a single o. The final x, the letter French also uses to write plurals such as châteaux, is not sounded. The same pattern gives you Margaux, mar-GOH, and the word château, where eau is again just o.

Stress is the other point. French places the beat on the last syllable of a word or phrase, so the weight falls on DOH and not on bor. English dictionaries list the same pattern for this word, which means the French and English forms are close. Merlot, mer-LOH, follows the same final-stress rule and also ends in a silent consonant.

Tips for saying it

Saying Bordeaux when you buy wine

The word on its own tells a server very little, because the region makes red, white, rosé and sweet wine. Add the color or the bank you prefer. British speakers often drop the r and say baw-DOH, which is a standard regional form and fits anywhere.

• “Do you have a red Bordeaux by the glass?”
• “I would like a Bordeaux from the Right Bank, something with more Merlot.” Naming the bank tells the shop which style you want.
• “Is this a Bordeaux blend?” Used outside France for wines made from the same grape mix.

Names often confused with Bordeaux

• Margaux (mar-GOH): A Left Bank village inside Bordeaux whose name ends in the same silent x and oh sound.
• Pauillac (poh-YAK): Another Left Bank village, but here the final c is sounded, so the silent-ending rule does not carry over.
• Saint-Émilion (san-tay-mee-LYOHN): A Right Bank town where Merlot leads the blend and the name ends in a nasal vowel.
• Sauternes (soh-TERN): The sweet white wine district of Bordeaux, with a silent final s where Bordeaux has a silent x.

Questions about pronouncing Bordeaux

How do you pronounce Bordeaux?

Bordeaux is pronounced bor-DOH, with two syllables and the stress on the second. The ending eaux sounds like oh, and the x is silent. The French and English forms are nearly the same; French uses a throatier r and a shorter, purer o.

Is the x silent in Bordeaux?

Yes. In French the x at the end of Bordeaux is not sounded, and English dictionaries follow the French here. The word ends on the vowel: bor-DOH. It is often heard as bor-DOKS from people reading the spelling, but the native form has no k or s sound.

How do you pronounce Bordeaux in American and British English?

American English says bor-DOH with a sounded r. British English usually drops the r, giving something closer to baw-DOH. Both put the stress on the second syllable and both leave the x silent, so either works when ordering.

What is the difference between Bordeaux and claret?

Claret is a British English name for red Bordeaux wine. It comes from clairet, a dark rosé that was once the main style exported from the region to England. Bordeaux is the wider term and covers the city, the region and its red, white, rosé and sweet wines.

What grapes are in a Bordeaux blend?

Red Bordeaux is usually built on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, often with Cabernet Franc and smaller amounts of Petit Verdot or Malbec. Left Bank wines tend to lead with Cabernet Sauvignon and Right Bank wines with Merlot. White Bordeaux is mainly Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.

Sources: Dictionary.com: Bordeaux, Wikipedia: Bordeaux wine, Wikipedia: Bordeaux. Last reviewed 2026-10-10.