French (France)
French pronunciation: sounds and spellings
French spelling looks unpredictable, but it follows rules: the same letter combinations almost always make the same sound, and many final letters are simply not said. This page lists every sound of standard French with the spellings that produce it. Tono scores French against the model for France.
Vowels
French vowels are short, tense and pure: no glide at the end. Several pairs differ only in how open the mouth is or whether the lips are rounded.
- i · y/i/Like “ee”, short and tense.lit, ici, stylo Practice
- é · er · ez/e/A closed e with spread lips, like “ay” without the glide.été, parler, nez Practice
- è · ê · ai/ɛ/An open e, as in “bed”.mère, tête, lait Practice
- a/a/A short, front “a”.ami, chat, madame Practice
- o · au · eau/o/A closed o with rounded lips, at the end of a word or before a z sound. No glide to w.beau, chaud, rose Practice
- o/ɔ/An open o, usually before a pronounced consonant.porte, homme, école Practice
- ou/u/Like “oo”, short and tense.nous, tout, rouge Practice French U and OU guide
- u/y/The tongue says “ee” while the lips say “oo”.tu, rue, lune Practice French U and OU guide
- eu · œu/ø/A closed é said with rounded lips, at the end of a syllable.deux, bleu, peu Practice
- eu · œu/œ/The open version, before a pronounced consonant.peur, fleur, sœur Practice
- e/ə/A short, relaxed e with slightly rounded lips. In everyday speech it is often dropped.le, petit, samedi Practice
Nasal vowels
The air goes through the nose and the mouth together, and the n or m is not pronounced as a separate sound.
- an · en · am · em/ɑ̃/An open “ah” through the nose.enfant, temps, chambre Practice French nasal vowels guide
- on · om/ɔ̃/A rounded “oh” through the nose.bon, nom, maison Practice French nasal vowels guide
- in · ain · ein · un/ɛ̃/The vowel of “bang” through the nose, without the ng.vin, pain, plein, unMost speakers in France say un with the same vowel as in. Practice French nasal vowels guide
Glides
Short vowels that slide into the next vowel in the same syllable.
Consonants that differ from English
Most French consonants are close to English. These are the ones that are not.
- r/ʁ/Made at the back of the mouth, near the uvula; the tongue tip stays down.rouge, Paris, merci Practice French R guide
- j · ge · gi/ʒ/The s of “measure”.jour, manger, gilet Practice
- ch/ʃ/The sh of “she”.chat, chercher, chose Practice
- gn/ɲ/Like the ny in “canyon”, said as one sound.montagne, signe, agneau Practice
- c · ç/k s/k before a, o and u; s before e and i, and always with the cedilla.café, cinéma, garçon Practice
- g/ɡ ʒ/The g of “go” before a, o and u; the s of “measure” before e and i.gare, gomme, girafe Practice
- s · ss/z s/A single s between two vowels is z; ss is always s.rose, maison, poissonpoison (poison) and poisson (fish) differ only in this sound. Practice
- qu/k/A plain k; the u is silent.qui, quatre, musique Practice
- th/t/A plain t: French has no th sound.thé, théâtre, rythme Practice
Silent letters and linking
Much of French spelling is not pronounced, and some of it comes back when the next word starts with a vowel.
- hsilentAlways silent.homme, hôtel, heure Practice
- final consonantssilentMost final consonants are silent. c, r, f and l at the end are often said.petit, grand, trop, avec Practice
- liaison/z n t/A silent final consonant is said before a vowel in words that belong together: les amis sounds like “lé-za-mi”.les amis, vous avez, un enfant Practice French liaison guide
Keep going
How to pronounce the French R French nasal vowels French minimal pairs French tongue twisters French pronunciation practice