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Online Lessons

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Pronunciation Chart

This is a quick reference guide to help you learn and practice the sounds of the French language.

CONSONANT SOUNDS

• FRENCH SPELLING	APPROXIMATE SOUND	EXAMPLE
  b, d, k, l, m, n, p, s t, v, z	same as in English
  c (before e, i, y)	s	cinéma
  c (before a, o, u)	k	cave
  ç (appears only before a, o, u)	s	français
  ch	sh	chaud
  g (before e, i, y)	zh in measure	âge
  g (before a, o, u)	g in game	gâteau
  gn	ny in onion	agneau
  h	always silent	homme
  j	zh in measure	Jacques
  qu, final q	k	qui
  r	pronounced in back of mouth, rolled like light gargling sound	Paris
  ss	s	tasse
  s (beginning of word ar before/after consonant)	s	salle, disque, absurde
  s (between vowels)	z in Zelda	maison
  th	t	thé
  x	gz in exact	exact
  x	ks in excellent	excellent
  II (between i and e)	y in yes	volaille
  ll	l in ill	elle

 

VOWEL SOUNDS

FRENCH SPELLING	APPROXIMATE SOUND	EXAMPLE
a, à, â	a in father	la
é, er, ez (end of word)	ay in lay	thé, parler, allez
e (plus final pronounced consonant)	e in met	belle
è, aî	e in met	père, chaîne
e	uh in alone	Ie, lever
eu, œu (always followed by a consonant sound)	uh in fur but with very rounded and loose lips	leur, cœur
eu, œu (never followed by any sound)	uh but with very round and tight lips	feu, vœu
i	ee in beet	ici
i plus vowel	y in yesterday	lion, bien
o, au, eau, ô	o in caught	mot, chaud, beau, hôte
ou	oo in toot	vous
oi	wa in watt	moi
oy	wa followed by a y sound	croyant
u	no equivalent in English -say ee, then round your lips	tu, fumeurs
ui	wee as in week	lui

 

NASAL VOWELS

Nasal vowels are sounds produced when air is expelled from both the mouth and the nose. In French, a consonant, n or m, that follows a nasal vowel is not fully pronounced. For example, the French word on: We pronounce the nasal vowel o through the mouth and nose, but we do not sound the following consonant n.

FRENCH SPELLING	APPROXIMATE SOUND	EXAMPLE
an, en	vowel in balm	France
em	vowel in balm	emmener
in, ain, ein	vowel in man	fin
im, aim	vowel in man	faim
ien	y + vowel in men	bien
ion	y + vowel in song	station
oin	w + vowel in man	loin
on	vowel in song	bon
om	vowel in song	tomber
un	vowel in lung	un

 

Books, Film, Music

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LEARNING FRENCH: RECOMMENDED BOOKS (PLEASE DISABLE ADBLOCK PROGRAMS)