French (France) minimal pairs

Minimal pairs: bon and bonne

/ɔ̃/vs/ɔn/

Hard for English speakers, who hear a nasal vowel and add an n after it. That turns bon into bonne, and a masculine word into a feminine one.

The difference. For bon the air goes through the nose and the tongue never touches the roof of the mouth; for bonne the vowel is oral and a full n follows.

Practice all pairs

10 word pairs

Say both words in each pair. If Tono colors one of them amber or red, that is the sound to work on.

bon bonne Practice
son sonne Practice
ton tonne Practice
don donne Practice
lion lionne Practice
breton bretonne Practice
mignon mignonne Practice
patron patronne Practice
champion championne Practice
baron baronne Practice

Contrast sentences

Both sounds in one sentence: the real test of whether you can switch between them.

C’est un bon vin et une bonne année. Practice
Le lion et la lionne dorment. Practice
Il est breton, elle est bretonne. Practice
Mon patron et ma patronne sont en réunion. Practice

How to practice minimal pairs

Listen to both words in Tono first, one after the other, until you can hear the difference.
Say the pair slowly and exaggerate the difference. Check that both words come back green.
Say the contrast sentences at normal speed. That is where the mix-up usually comes back.

Step-by-step help with these sounds: How to pronounce French nasal vowels (an, on, in)

More minimal pairs

English minimal pairs Spanish minimal pairs German minimal pairs