PRONUNCIATION / LA PRONONCIATION

French Vowels
General
IPA Phoneticspelling Sample words
spellings
[i] ee vie, midi, lit, riz i, y
rue, jus, tissu,
[y] ee rounded u
usine
blé, nez, cahier, é, et, final
[e] ay
pied er and ez
jeu, yeux,
[ø] ay rounded eu
queue, bleu
lait, aile, balai, e, è, ê, ai,
[ɛ] eh
reine ei, ais
sœur, œuf, fleur,
[œ] eh rounded œu, eu
beurre
chat, ami, papa,
[a] ah a, à, â
salade
bas, âne, grâce,
[ɑ] ah longer a, â
château
loup, cou,
[u] oo ou
caillou, outil
eau, dos,
[o] oh o, ô
escargot, hôtel
sol, pomme,
[ɔ] aw o
cloche, horloge
fenêtre, genou,
[ə] uh e
cheval, cerise
[ɑ] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]. Vowels that do not exist in
English are marked in blue.
 
French semi-vowels
General
IPA Phoneticspelling Sample words
spelling
fois, oui,
[w] w oi, ou
Louis
[ɥ] ew-ee lui, suisse ui
oreille,
[j] yuh ill, y
Mireille

French nasal vowels

IPA Phonetic spelling Sample words General spelling
[ã] awn gant, banc, dent en, em, an, am, aon, aen
in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um, 
[ɛ]̃ ahn pain, vin, linge
en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, éen
[œ̃] uhn brun, lundi, parfum un
[õ] ohn rond, ongle, front on, om
[œ̃] is being replaced with [ɛ]̃  in modern French
In words beginning with in-, a nasal is only used if the next letter is a consonant.  Otherwise,
the in- prefix is pronounceeen before a vowel.
French Consonants
ex + vowel egz examen, exercice
ex + consonant eks exceptionnel, expression
ch (Latin origin) sh architecte, archives
ch (Greek origin) k orchestre, archéologie
ti + vowel (except é) see démocratie, nation
c + e, i, y; or ç s cent, ceinture, maçon
c + a, o, u k caillou, car, cube
g + e, i, y zh genou, gingembre
g + a, o, u g gomme, ganglion
th t maths, thème, thym
j zh jambe, jus, jeune
qu, final q k que, quoi, grecque
h silent haricot, herbe, hasard
vowel + s + vowel z rose, falaise, casino
x + vowel z six ans, beaux arts
final x s six, dix, soixante (these 3 only!)
There are a lot of silent letters in French, and you usually do not pronounce the final
consonant, unless that final consonant is C, R, F or L (except verbs that end in -r).
Liaison: French slurs most words together in a sentence, so if a word ends in a consonant that
is not pronounced and the next word starts with a vowel or silent h, slur the two together as if
it were one word. S and x are pronounced as z; d as t; and f as v in these liaisons. Liaison is
always made in the following cases:

● after a determiner: un ami, des amis

● before or after a pronoun: vous avez, je les ai
● after a preceding adjective: bon ami, petits enfants
● after one syllable prepositions: en avion, dans un livre
● after some one-syllable adverbs (très, plus, bien)
● after est
It is optional after pas, trop fort, and the forms of être, but it is never made after et.
Silent e: Sometimes the e is dropped in words and phrases, shortening the syllables and
slurring more words.

● rapid(e)ment, lent(e)ment, sauv(e)tage /ʀapidmɑ̃/ /ɑ̃tmɑ̃/ /sovtaʒ/

● sous l(e) bureau, chez l(e) docteur /sul byʀo/ /ʃel dɔktoʀ/
● il y a d(e)... , pas d(e)... , plus d(e)... /yad/ /pad/ / plyd/
● je n(e), de n(e) /ʒən/ /dən/
● j(e) te, c(e) que /ʃt/ /skə/ (note the change of the pronunciation of the j as well)

Stress & Intonation: Stress on syllables is not as heavily pronounced as in English and it

generally falls on the last syllable of the word. Intonation usually only rises for yes/no
questions, and all other times, it goes down at the end of the sentence.

3. ALPHABET / L'ALPHABET 
a /a/ j /ʒi/ s /ɛs/
b /be/ k /ka/ t /te/
c /se/ l /ɛl/ u /y/
d /de/ m /ɛm/ v /ve/
e /ə/ n /ɛn/ w /dubləve/
f /ɛf/ o /o/ x /iks/
g /ʒɜ/ p /pe/ y /igrɛk/
h /aʃ/ q /ky/ z /zɛd/

i /i/ r /ɛʀ/