French Pronunciation Charts

What follows are two representations of French pronunciations: 1. a list of all the French spellings in all
positions and linkings with their IPA equivalent; and 2. a list of all IPA sounds found in the French
language and their spellings. In learning to correctly pronounce French without the aid of a IPA
transcriptions, I find it best for the beginning student to follow the route of the French spellings rather that
working from the sounds themselves. Although there are many rules and spellings, French is an extremely
regular language. With the exception of a few words with variable word endings and some proper nouns,
almost all French words will follow the rules to the letter.

Part one: French Spellings - Vowel Pronunciation

French spellings for the vowel -a IPA French example with IPA
Paris [
-a or - usually
l
- in a few verb forms alltes
pale
- (except as above)
extase
-a before and sounds
lacer
-ai, -a, -aie, -ais, -aise, -ait, -aient usually mais
faisais
-ai in some verb forms of faire when before [z]
faisons
-ai final gai
travail
-ail, -aill, -aille
cailloux
faim
-aim, -ain when final or before a consonant except -m or -n, or -h
ainsi
aime
-aim, -ain when followed by a vowel
plaine
champ
-am, -an, -aon when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h
fumant
tamis
-am, -an when followed by a vowel or another -m or -n
manne
-au chaud
-au before -r Faur
-ay, -aye, -ayes payer

French spellings for vowel -e IPA French example with IPA

- t
pre
-, -, - forts
Nol
-e before a single consonant and a vowel cheval
-e before two consonants elle
-e before final pronounced consonants fer

1
-e before final silent consonants (except -s and -t) pied
-e final spoken silent parle
sung parle
-e final in monosyllables je
-er final - generally in non-verb forms hiver
parler
-er final - in verb endings and some nouns and adjectives.
boulanger
-es final parles
-es final in monosyllables before a closed vowel les
-es final in monosyllables before an open vowel des
-et final filet
et (the words meaning and) et
-eau beau
-ei seize
-eim & -ein when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h plein
-em & -en when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h ensemble
tenir
-em & -en when followed by a vowel the -e is not nasal
tennis
emmler
-emm & -enn when initial remain nasal except ennemi
ennui
-en after -i viens
-ent final firmament
-ent final in third person plural verb endings parlent
-eu in the interior of a word heure
-eu before [z] creuse
-eu as a final sound peu
-ge before a back vowel (-a, -o, -u) Georges

French spellings for the vowel -i IPA French example with IPA
-i single including before a mute -e finir
- with the circonflexe le
- with the dirse Ada
-i preceding a stressed vowel bien
Final -il and -ille, and medial -ill aille
-ill and ille with no other vowel fille
timbre
-im and -in when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h
brin
French spellings for the vowel -o IPA French example with IPA
-o preceding a consonant or a vowel doter
-o when final sound mot
- ter
-o before [z] rose
-oe and -oeu coeur
-oi voix
-oin when final or before a consonant ex. -h loin
-oy royal
-ou are before a stressed vowel oui
-om -on when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h nom
-eon. pigeon
-ou, -o and -o vous

French spellings for the vowel -u IPA French example with IPA
-u after g- and q- silent guitare
-u,- , -(e), and -ue murmure
-um and -un followed by a vowel, but not -m, -n, or -h. unanime
-ue when followed by -il, -ill, or ille orgueil
-que when final or not followed by double consonants que
-ueu after -g and q vainqueur
-u before a stressed vowel lui
-um and -un when final or before a consonant except-m or -n, or -h brun

French spellings for the vowel -y IPA French example with IPA
-y or - except when nasal martyr
-ym and -yn before a vowel hymne
-yn and -ym when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h thym
-y initial in a word yeux
-y between two vowels royal
Consonant pronunciation

While consonant pronunciation is considerably easier than for vowels, it still offers some challenges for
the singer. Each individual consonant will be presented with a minimum of two pronunciation examples:
first, a general pronunciation for the single and double consonant in the initial and medial position, and
second, a possible final pronunciation. If such exist, pronunciation variants in liaison, and combination
will also be presented.

Letter French Spelling IPA French Word with IPA

b -b or -bb initial and medial beau
abbesse
final silent plomb
followed by -s or -t absolu
c -c before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y) ciel
-cc before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y) accent
-c or -cc before a back vowel (-a, -o, -u) or a cons. encore
final parc
final after -n silent blanc
-ct final direct
silent respect
- with the dille garon
-ch blanche
-ch in words of Greek origin Christ
-cqu acquisition
d -d or -dd initial or medial doux
addition
final silent pied
in liaison grand_arbre
f -f or -ff initial or medial enfant
effort
final comparatif
in liaison neuf_heures
g -g before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y) sabotage
-gg before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y) suggestion
-g or -gg before a back vowel (-a, -o, -u) or a cons. grave
final silent sang
in liaison sang_et eau
-ge before a back vowel (-a, -o, -u) or a consonant pigeon
-gu before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y) gigue
-gn compagnon
-gt silent doigt
h Initial -h is classified as mute and aspirate - both are always silent but,
-h initial mute allows liaison or elision silent douze_heure
-h initial aspirate allows no linking silent tres *hideuse
-h medial silent souhaiter
j -j jardin
k found in words of foreign origin only kilo
final kodak
l -l or -ll initial or medial large
ballet
final ideal
-il, -ill, and -ille (but not final -ile) soleil
papillons j
famille
In the these words and their derivatives mille (thousand)
tranquille (tranquil)

ville (villages)
m -m or -mm initial or medial mardi
flamme
after a nasal vowel silent parfum
in liaison nom_ tiroirs
n -n or -nn initial or medial neige
anne
after a nasal vowel silent ensemble
in liaison en_aimant
p -p or -pp initial or medial captive
support
final silent trop
in liaison trop_en
-mpt silent compter
-ph philosophe
q -qu initial or medial liqueur
final cinq
in liaison cinq_enfants
r Spoken French makes use of the uvular that is appropriate for dialogue and cabaret songs.
-r or -rr initial, rapide
-r or -rr medial or final garage
terrible
hiver
-er, -ier, or -yer final in some nouns and adjectives silent foyer (noun)
-er in the infinitive verb form parler
s -s and -ss initial or medial sance
Debussy
-s medial between vowels maison
-s final silent toujours
-s final in exceptions hlas
lis
fils

in liaison mes_yeux ]
-sc before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y) descendre
-sc before a back vowel (-a, -o, -u) or a consonant scandale
-sch initial or medial schma
t -t or -tt initial or medial total
glotte
-t final silent tuot
-t in liaison tout_un
-th Thomas
-ti in endings -tion and -tience attention
-tie when final sortie
v -v initial or medial souvenir
w -w found in words of foreign origin Wagon

x before consonants texte

before vowels or -h exemple
in numbers deuxieme
in liaison deux_enfants
z initial or medial zle
douze
final silent chez
Final as an exception Berlioz
Part two: A list of French sounds with some of the more common French spellings.
Adapted and expanded from Le Petit Robert CD-Rom.

Vowels Consonants
il, pi, lyre pre, soupe
bl, aller, chez, et, jai, tes terre, vite
lait, merci, fte, Nol, forts, hiver, Seigneur
cou, qui, sac, kpi
soleil, hotel, bouquet
ami, patti, bon, robe
pas, pte dans, aide
fort, donner, sol gar, bague, gui
mot, dme, eau, saule feu, neuf, photo
genou, roue sale, celui, a, dessous, tasse
peu, deux, creuse chat, tache schma
peur, meuble, ceuile vous, rve
brin, plein, bain zro, maison, rose
sans, vent je, gilet, gele
ton, ombre, bont lent, sol
lundi, brun, parfum rue, venir
mot, flamme

Semi-vowels nous, tonne, animal

yeux, paille, pied, panier agneau, vigne
oui, fouet, joua, joie
huile, lui | no liaison or elision allowed