The oral and nasal vowels, letter groups such as oi, ch and gn, silent letters, the final stress and the French r. A final consonant is usually silent: petit, grand
Summary
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| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral vowels | u is said /y/, with the lips pushed forward; ou is said /u/ | tu /ty/ · tout /tu/ | you / all | |
| Nasal vowels | an, en /ɑ̃/; on /ɔ̃/; in, ain /ɛ̃/; the n is not said | bon /bɔ̃/ · pain /pɛ̃/ | good / bread | |
| Letter groups | oi /wa/; ch /ʃ/; qu /k/; au, eau /o/ | moi / chat / qui / beau | me / cat / who / beautiful | |
| More groups | ai, ei /ɛ/; gn /ɲ/; ill /ij/ | mais / montagne / fille | but / mountain / girl | |
| Final consonant | usually silent; a final e is silent too | petit / grand / table | small / big / table | |
| Exceptions | a final c, r, f or l is often said | sac / bonjour / neuf / mal | bag / hello / nine / bad | |
| The letter h | the h is never pronounced | homme / hôtel | man / hotel | |
| Stress | on the last pronounced syllable of the word group | chocolat / banane | chocolate / banana | |
| The r | r is said at the back of the throat, /ʁ/ | rouge / merci | red / thank you | |
| The group ill | a few words say /il/: ville, mille | la ville / mille euros | the city / a thousand euros | |
| Trap | u /y/ and ou /u/ make two different words | la rue / la roue | the street / the wheel | |
| Trap | bon has no audible n; with nn the vowel is oral and the n is said | bon /bɔ̃/ · bonne /bɔn/ | good (masculine) / good (feminine) |
Oral vowels
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| Sound | Spelling | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /i/ | i, î, y | midi | noon | |
| /e/ | é, er, ez, et | café | coffee | |
| /ɛ/ | è, ê, ai, ei, e | mère | mother | |
| /a/ | a, à, â | papa | dad | |
| /y/ | u, û | tu | you | |
| /ø/ | eu, œu | deux | two | |
| /œ/ | eu, œu | peur | fear | |
| /ə/ | e | petit | small | |
| /u/ | ou, où | vous | you (plural, polite) | |
| /o/ | o, ô, au, eau | beau | beautiful | |
| /ɔ/ | o | porte | door |
- é is said /e/, with the mouth almost closed; è is said /ɛ/, with the mouth more open. thé /te/ · très /tʁɛ/tea / very
- To say /y/, say /i/ and round the lips without moving the tongue. tu /ty/ · rue /ʁy/you / street
- eu is said /ø/ at the end of a syllable or before /z/, and /œ/ before any other pronounced consonant. deux /dø/ · chanteuse /ʃɑ̃tøz/ · peur /pœʁ/two / singer (woman) / fear
- o, au, eau are said /o/ at the end of a syllable or before /z/; o is said /ɔ/ before any other pronounced consonant. mot /mo/ · rose /ʁoz/ · porte /pɔʁt/word / rose / door
- The e of le, je, de and petit is said /ə/, a short vowel. le /lə/ · je /ʒə/the / I
- In speech, the /ə/ is often dropped: samedi is said /samdi/. samedi /samdi/Saturday
- Canada: In Québec, t and d before /i/ and /y/ become affricates: tu is said /tsy/, dire is said /dziʁ/. tu /tsy/ · dire /dziʁ/you / to say
- Canada: In Québec, /i/, /y/ and /u/ go lax in a syllable closed by a consonant: vite is said /vɪt/, jupe /ʒʏp/, route /ʁʊt/. vite /vɪt/ · jupe /ʒʏp/quickly / skirt
Nasal vowels
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| Sound | Spelling | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /ɑ̃/ | an, am, en, em | dans | in | |
| /ɔ̃/ | on, om | bon | good | |
| /ɛ̃/ | in, im, ain, aim, ein | pain | bread | |
| /œ̃/ | un, um | lundi | Monday |
- A nasal vowel is said through the nose, and the n or m after it is not said. dans / bon / painin / good / bread
- Before a vowel or before nn, mm, the vowel is oral and the n or m is said. bon /bɔ̃/ · bonne /bɔn/ · un /œ̃/ · une /yn/good (masculine) / good (feminine) / one (masculine) / one (feminine)
- ien is said /jɛ̃/ and oin is said /wɛ̃/. bien /bjɛ̃/ · loin /lwɛ̃/well / far
- France: In France, /œ̃/ is often said /ɛ̃/: un and brun then sound like brin. un /ɛ̃/ · brun /bʁɛ̃/one / brown
- Canada: In Québec, /œ̃/ and /ɛ̃/ stay distinct: brun is said /bʁœ̃/ and brin is said /bʁɛ̃/. brun /bʁœ̃/ · brin /bʁɛ̃/brown / blade (of grass)
Letter groups
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| Letters | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| oi | is said /wa/ | moi /mwa/ · trois /tʁwa/ | me / three | |
| ch | is said /ʃ/ | chat /ʃa/ · chez /ʃe/ | cat / at the home of | |
| qu | is said /k/ | qui /ki/ · que /kə/ | who / that | |
| gu | before e or i, is said /g/ | guitare /gitaʁ/ · guerre /gɛʁ/ | guitar / war | |
| gn | is said /ɲ/ | montagne /mɔ̃taɲ/ · ligne /liɲ/ | mountain / line | |
| ill | is said /ij/ | fille /fij/ · famille /famij/ | girl / family | |
| ui | is said /ɥi/ | nuit /nɥi/ · huit /ɥit/ | night / eight | |
| ph, th | ph is said /f/; th is said /t/ | photo /fɔto/ · thé /te/ | photo / tea | |
| ail, eil | at the end of a word, ail is said /aj/ and eil is said /ɛj/ | travail /tʁavaj/ · soleil /sɔlɛj/ | work / sun | |
| ill | a few words are said /il/ | ville /vil/ · mille /mil/ | city / thousand |
The letters j, y, c, g, s and x
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| Letters | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| j | is said /ʒ/ | jour /ʒuʁ/ · je /ʒə/ | day / I | |
| y | vowel /i/ inside a word; consonant /j/ before a vowel | stylo /stilo/ · yaourt /jauʁt/ | pen / yoghurt | |
| c | before e, i, y, is said /s/; elsewhere, /k/ | cinéma /sinema/ · café /kafe/ | cinema / coffee | |
| g | before e, i, y, is said /ʒ/; elsewhere, /g/ | girafe /ʒiʁaf/ · gare /gaʁ/ | giraffe / station | |
| s | between two vowels, is said /z/; ss and elsewhere, /s/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ · poisson /pwasɔ̃/ · sac /sak/ | house / fish / bag | |
| ge | before a or o, is said /ʒ/: the e is silent | mangeons /mɑ̃ʒɔ̃/ | we eat | |
| x | is said /ks/, or /gz/ in ex + vowel | taxi /taksi/ · exemple /ɛgzɑ̃pl/ | taxi / example |
Silent letters
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| Letters | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| s, t, d, x, z, p | at the end of a word, these consonants are usually silent | vous / petit / grand / beaucoup | you / small / big / a lot | |
| e | a final e is silent; it makes the consonant before it heard | petite /pətit/ · grande /gʁɑ̃d/ | small (feminine) / big (feminine) | |
| c, r, f, l | at the end of a word, these consonants are often said | sac / bonjour / neuf / mal | bag / hello / nine / bad | |
| er, ez | at the end of a word, are said /e/; the r and the z are silent | parler /paʁle/ · vous parlez /paʁle/ | to speak / you speak | |
| ent | at the end of a verb after ils or elles, is silent | ils parlent /paʁl/ · elles mangent /mɑ̃ʒ/ | they speak / they eat | |
| s, x | the plural s or x is silent | le chat · les chats /ʃa/ | the cat / the cats | |
| h | is never said | homme /ɔm/ · hôtel /otɛl/ | man / hotel |
- A silent consonant is sometimes said before a vowel, and there are two kinds of h: see Liaison and Elision.
- For how the plural is formed, see Plurals.
Stress and rhythm
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- The stress falls on the last pronounced syllable of the word. chocolat / banane / caféchocolate / banana / coffee
- In a group of words, only the last syllable is stressed. Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît.I'd like a coffee, please.
- The other syllables have almost the same force and length.
- A syllable often ends in a vowel: the words are cut ba-na-ne, a-mi.
The French r
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- The r is said at the back of the throat, /ʁ/: the air rubs against the back of the tongue. rouge /ʁuʒ/ · merci /mɛʁsi/ · rue /ʁy/red / thank you / street
- It is made in the same place as /k/ and /g/: say /ga/, then let the air rub without closing.
- The r is also said next to another consonant and at the end of ir: trois, partir. trois /tʁwa/ · partir /paʁtiʁ/three / to leave
Typical errors
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| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| rue /ʁu/ | rue /ʁy/ | u is /y/, not /u/: rue /ʁy/ and roue /ʁu/ are two words | |
| bon /bɔn/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | a nasal vowel has no n after it: bon /bɔ̃/ | |
| petit /pətit/ | petit /pəti/ | the final consonant of petit is silent | |
| homme /hɔm/ | homme /ɔm/ | the h is never pronounced: homme /ɔm/ | |
| rouge /ɹuʒ/ | rouge /ʁuʒ/ | the French r is /ʁ/, made at the back of the throat, not the English /ɹ/ | |
| moi /moi/ | moi /mwa/ | oi is said /wa/ | |
| chat /tʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | ch is /ʃ/, as in English machine, not /tʃ/ | |
| montagne /mɔ̃tagn/ | montagne /mɔ̃taɲ/ | gn is one sound, /ɲ/, like the ny of canyon | |
| fille /fil/ | fille /fij/ | ill is said /ij/: fille /fij/ | |
| ils parlent /paʁlɑ̃t/ | ils parlent /paʁl/ | ent is silent at the end of a verb after ils or elles | |
| parler /paʁlɛʁ/ | parler /paʁle/ | a final er is said /e/, without /ʁ/ | |
| chocolat | chocolat | the stress falls on the last syllable: chocolat | |
| ville /vij/ | ville /vil/ | a few words with ill are said /il/: ville, mille, tranquille |