French (France) minimal pairs

Minimal pairs: le and les

/ə/vs/e/

Hard for speakers of English, Spanish and Italian, who say both as “luh” or both as “lay”. In French this vowel is often the only thing that tells the singular from the plural: le livre, les livres.

The difference. For le the vowel is short and relaxed, with the lips slightly rounded; for les the lips spread as in a smile and the vowel is tense, like é.

Practice all pairs

9 word pairs

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

le les Practice
de des Practice
ce ces Practice
me mes Practice
te tes Practice
se ses Practice
je j’ai Practice
ne nez Practice
que quai Practice

Contrast sentences

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

Je prends le livre, pas les livres. Practice
Ce chat aime ces jouets. Practice
Je te donne tes clés. Practice
Il cherche ses lunettes et se lève. 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.

More minimal pairs

English minimal pairs Spanish minimal pairs German minimal pairs