French pronunciation guide
How to pronounce the French R
The French R /ʁ/ is made at the back of the mouth, not with the tip of the tongue. The back of the tongue rises towards the soft palate and the uvula, and the air rubs through the narrow gap. It is close to a light gargle, and much softer than most learners expect.
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French R
Back of the tongue near the uvula. The tongue tip rests behind the bottom teeth.
rouge, Paris, merci, très
How to make the sound
- Put the tip of your tongue behind your bottom front teeth and leave it there. It takes no part in this sound.
- Say a hard “g” as in “go”. Now say it again without closing: raise the back of your tongue until it almost touches, and let the air rub through.
- Add your voice. You should get a soft, slightly rough sound, like a quiet gargle.
- Keep it light. Between vowels (Paris, arriver) it is barely more than a breath. After a voiceless consonant (très, pratique) it loses its voice.
Words to warm up with
The R sits in a different place in each word. Keep the tongue tip down every time.
- rouge /ʁuʒ/
- Paris /paʁi/
- merci /mɛʁsi/
- très /tʁɛ/
- arriver /aʁive/
- bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/
- rue /ʁy/
- heureux /øʁø/
Practice with real sentences
Tap Practice to open the sentence in Tono, listen to it, and say it.
- Je voudrais un croissant, s’il vous plaît. I would like a croissant, please.Practice
- Merci beaucoup pour votre aide. Thank you very much for your help.Practice
- La rue est très large. The street is very wide.Practice
- Robert arrive à Paris ce soir. Robert arrives in Paris tonight.Practice
- Il faut prendre le train de trois heures. We have to take the three o’clock train.Practice
- Mon frère travaille en Bretagne. My brother works in Brittany.Practice
- Il fait froid ce matin. It is cold this morning.Practice
- Bonjour, je m’appelle Marie. Hello, my name is Marie.Practice
Common mistakes
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An English R
The tongue curls up at the front and the word sounds English. Anchor the tongue tip behind your bottom teeth.
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A rolled R
Speakers of Spanish, Italian and Russian often trill the tongue tip. A rolled R survives in some regions and old songs, but standard French uses the back R.
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Too harsh
A strong scrape sounds like the German ch in Bach. Use less air and more voice.