French pronunciation guide
How to pronounce the French nasal vowels
French has three main nasal vowels: /ɑ̃/ as in blanc, /ɔ̃/ as in bon and /ɛ̃/ as in vin. In each one, air flows out through your nose and your mouth at the same time, and there is no N or M at the end. Adding an “n”, so that bon sounds like “bone”, is the giveaway most learners never notice.
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an, en, am, em
Mouth open, tongue low and back. An “ah” through the nose.
blanc, enfant, temps, chambre
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on, om
Lips rounded, tongue back. An “oh” through the nose.
bon, nom, maison, tomber
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in, ain, ein, un
Lips spread, mouth half open. The vowel of “bang” through the nose, without the “ng”.
vin, pain, plein, un
How to make the sounds
- Say the plain vowel first: “ah”, “oh”, or the vowel of English “bag”.
- Keep your mouth in that shape and let part of the air go out through your nose. Pinch your nose lightly: you should feel it vibrate.
- Stop there. Do not close your tongue or lips at the end, so that no /n/, /m/ or “ng” appears.
- Watch the spelling. The vowel is nasal only when the n or m is not followed by a vowel: bon is /bɔ̃/, but bonne is /bɔn/.
A fourth nasal vowel, /œ̃/ in un and parfum, has merged with /ɛ̃/ for most speakers in France. Saying un like in is standard.
Minimal pairs
Only the vowel changes. In the last two pairs, the second word has a real /n/ and no nasal vowel.
- blanc blond white · blond
- vent vont wind · (they) go
- vin vent wine · wind
- lent long slow · long
- bon bonne good (m.) · good (f.)
- plein pleine full (m.) · full (f.)
12 minimal pairs: vent and vont10 minimal pairs: bon and bonne
Practice with real sentences
Tap Practice to open the sentence in Tono, listen to it, and say it.
- Mon enfant mange du pain blanc. My child is eating white bread.Practice
- Le vent est fort ce matin. The wind is strong this morning.Practice
- Ils vont en France en avion. They are going to France by plane.Practice
- Un bon vin blanc, s’il vous plaît. A good white wine, please.Practice
- Mon oncle habite dans une grande maison. My uncle lives in a big house.Practice
- Le train part dans cinq minutes. The train leaves in five minutes.Practice
- Combien de temps faut-il ? How long does it take?Practice
- Il y a longtemps que je t’attends. I have been waiting for you for a long time.Practice
Common mistakes
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Adding an N
Speakers of English and Spanish often say bon as “bone” or “bong”. The tongue must not touch the roof of the mouth at the end.
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Mixing up /ɑ̃/ and /ɔ̃/
Vent and vont differ only in the lips. Round them for on; keep them open for an.