How to pronounce charcuterie

Short answer: say shar-KOO-tuh-ree (/ʃɑːrˈkuː.t̬ər.i/): "sh" as in shoe, four syllables, stress on KOO. It's the only American pronunciation in Cambridge, and British dictionaries (Cambridge, Collins) give the same stress without the R: shah-KOO-tuh-ree. Merriam-Webster lists only shar-koo-tuh-REE, stressed on the last syllable, and American Heritage and Dictionary.com list that version first. In French, charcuterie is /ʃaʁ.ky.tʁi/, about shar-kü-TREE, in three syllables.

Listen

Both American clips are by the same speaker, so you can compare the two stress patterns.

Is it shar-KOO-tuh-ree or shar-koo-tuh-REE?

Both are in the dictionaries, which split on the stress:

British dictionaries agree with each other, but the American entries split: Merriam-Webster gives only the version stressed at the end, Cambridge only shar-KOO-tuh-ree, and American Heritage and Dictionary.com give both. We couldn't find a survey of which stress Americans actually use.

In 2021, "how to pronounce charcuterie" was number seven on the "How to pronounce" list in Google's Year in Search for the United States. In a 2026 OnePoll survey of 2,000 UK adults for Škoda UK (a brand survey, not a scientific one), charcuterie came third among Britain's most mispronounced words, and the mistake it named was a hard "ch", as in chart.

So which should you say? shar-KOO-tuh-ree is the safe choice: every dictionary we checked except Merriam-Webster lists the KOO stress, and it's the only stress in Cambridge and Collins. In the US, shar-koo-tuh-REE is just as correct: it's Merriam-Webster's only form, and American Heritage and Dictionary.com list it first.

Why is charcuterie pronounced "shar-KOO-tuh-ree"?

Because it's a French word, spelled the French way:

• ch is "sh". French ch sounds like English "sh", as in chef, chic and champagne. Read the English way, char sounds like chart: the mistake from the Škoda survey.
• cu is "koo". French u is an "ee" said with rounded lips ([y] in IPA); English dictionaries replace it with "oo". Wiktionary also lists a British "kyoo", as in cute; Cambridge and Collins don't.
• -erie is a French ending for a shop, as in brasserie and patisserie. French can drop its e: Wiktionary transcribes the word in three syllables, shar-kü-tree. The English dictionaries we checked all give four.
• The stress. French doesn't stress words the way English does: the extra weight falls on the last full syllable of a phrase. Merriam-Webster's version keeps the stress there; Cambridge's moves it to KOO.

Literally, charcuterie is a pork butcher's shop. Merriam-Webster traces it to Middle French chaircuiterie, from chaircutier, "pork butcher", from chair cuite, "cooked meat". In Paris, the charcutiers, who made pork products and sausages, formed their own guild in the 1470s. Merriam-Webster dates the first known use in English to 1825.

How to say charcuterie step by step

1. Start with "shar": "sh" as in shoe, then "ar" as in car, not "ch" as in chart. In British English, drop the R: "shah".
2. Stress "KOO": a long "oo", as in food.
3. Add "tuh-ree": two light syllables. In American English the t can be a quick flap, as in water, so it sounds close to "duh-ree"; Cambridge and Wiktionary both mark it.
4. Count to four: shar-KOO-tuh-ree. For Merriam-Webster's version, stress the end: shar-koo-tuh-REE.

Watch the syllables too: Fox News put charcuterie first in a 2024 list of food words people get wrong, quoting mangled versions such as "chartcherie" and "shark-cutchie". If French is your first language, you can keep a French-style shar-kü-tuh-REE: Dictionary.com lists this French form after its two English ones.

Practice in a sentence

• We ordered a charcuterie board with salami, pâté and two cheeses.
• Is it shar-KOO-tuh-ree or shar-koo-tuh-REE? Both are in the dictionary.
• The charcutier at the market sliced the ham very thin.

Then try other French food words. American pronunciations, from the Cambridge Dictionary:

For more French food words, see how to pronounce croissant and macaron. For another appetizer with a spelling trap, see bruschetta.

What is charcuterie?

Charcuterie is cooked or cured meat, mostly pork: ham, bacon, sausages, salami, pâtés and terrines. The word also names the shop that sells it. Merriam-Webster adds two more senses: the craft of preparing and serving it, and a charcuterie board, where the meat comes with other foods such as cheese, fruit, nuts and crackers. In 2021, "charcuterie board" was the fourth trending food search on Google worldwide, according to Google's Year in Search.

Sources

• Merriam-Webster — charcuterie; American Heritage Dictionary — charcuterie
• Cambridge Dictionary — charcuterie and charcutier, plus chef, patisserie, brasserie and pâté; Dictionary.com — charcuterie, with the Collins British entry; Collins — charcuterie
• Wiktionary — charcuterie; Wikipedia — Charcuterie, French phonology, Close front rounded vowel
• Medievalists.net — Ryan Whibbs on Parisian cooks and charcutiers, 1475–1599, May 2021
• Google — Year in Search 2021, United States and global
• Škoda UK — Britain's most mispronounced words, August 2026; Fox News — 10 foods you're probably mispronouncing, September 2024