French (France) minimal pairs

Minimal pairs: poisson and poison

/s/vs/z/

Hard for speakers of Spanish, whose language has no z sound, and for anyone reading French spelling aloud: one s between two vowels is a z, and ss is always s.

The difference. For s the air hisses with no voice; for z the same hiss comes with a buzz from the voice. Put a finger on your throat: it vibrates only for z.

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.

poisson poison Practice
dessert désert Practice
coussin cousin Practice
basse base Practice
casser caser Practice
russe ruse Practice
douce douze Practice
visser viser Practice
ils sont ils ont Practice
hausse ose Practice

Contrast sentences

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

Je mange du poisson, pas du poison. Practice
On a pris le dessert en plein désert. Practice
Mon cousin dort sur le coussin. Practice
Ils sont contents et ils ont faim. 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