Phonétique/phonetics

Prononciation/pronunciation
Observation Générales
Phonèmes/ phonemes
(voyelles, semi-voyelles, consonnes)
an overview of the rules of French pronunciation

Les Voyelles
Vowels in French are pure vowels, i.e. they are not
diphthongs as in American English.
Vowels are pronounced slightly longer when they are in the
final closed syllable (a consonant follows the vowels in the
same syllable)

1. [a]
[a] Ah chat, ami, papa, salade a, à, â
Patte, sac
Nearest (equivalent) English phoneme: / / as in father

2. [ɑ]
[ɑ] ah bas, âne, grâce, château a, â
 longer
[ɑ] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by
[a].

Does not exist in english

Pâte
3. [e]
A
[e] blé, nez, cahier, pied é, et, final er and ez
y
The vowel [e] can only occur in open syllables (no
consonant follows it in the same syllable) in French

é=clé, télé,
final er=parler,jouer
es=les,
et=buffet(jouet[ʒwɛ])
ez=parlez
ier=soulier
Nearest (equivalent) English phoneme: / eɪ /
Disappearing e
 Careful Speech Normal Speech
samedi / lentement / sauvetage sam'di / lent'ment / sauv'tage
sous le bureau / chez le sous l'bureau / chez
docteur l'docteur
il y a de / pas de / plus de il y a d' / pas d' / plus d'
je ne / de ne / tu ne je n' / de n' / tu n'
je te / ce que / ce qui j'te / c'que / c'qui
Au revoir[o] [RəvwaR] or [RɔvwaR]
4. [ɛ]
E
[ɛ] lait, aile, balai, reine e, è, ê, ai, ei, ais
h

In closed syllables, [ɛ] is used; however, [ɛ] can also be

found in open syllables. (This is a major difference with
English as [ɛ] can never be found in open syllables.)

è=Mère, règle,
ai= mais, fait, faite, (aigu[egy], rail[raj],faisan[fəzɑ̃],Pain
[pɛ̃] )

ei=treize,peine
e+consonnes= étiquette
être,
est,
jouet,
merci

Ay=ai i, crayon= (crai-ion)

Nearest (equivalent) English phoneme: /ɛ/

5. [ə]
U
[ə] fenêtre, genou, cheval, cerise e
h
repenser[r(ə)pɑ̃se] , ce, demain
Nearest (equivalent) English phoneme: / ɑ / as in hot

6. [i]
E
[i] vie, midi, lit, riz i, y
e
The vowel [i] is pronounced slightly longer when it is in
the final closed syllable (a consonant follows the vowels in
the same syllable)
Tir [tiʀ] longer=closed syllable
Tirer [tiʀe] shorter= tir is a closed syllable, while ti is an
open syllable (and rer is a closed syllable

lit, stylo, île, vie

Nearest (equivalent) English phoneme: / i:/as in A

7. [o]
O
[o] eau, dos, escargot, hotel o, ô
h
Generally, [o] always occurs in stressed open syllables

Nevertheless, [o] can also occur in stressed closed

syllables, depending on the spelling of the word: when the
letter o is followed by [m], [n], [z]; when the letters au are
not followed by [R]; and by the letter ô.

Vélo, drôle, bateau, landau, eau, mot, dôme,

gauche

Nearest (equivalent) English phoneme: / əʊ /as in

8. [ɔ]
A
[ɔ] sol, pomme, cloche, horloge O
w
[ɔ] Occurs in stressed closed syllables

Pomme, poste, poli, fort, donner

Nearest (equivalent/approximation) English phoneme: /ɑ /as in

9. [œ]
[œ] eh sœur, œuf, fleur, beurre œu, eu
 rounded
In stressed, closed syllables, only [œ] is possible
In unstressed syllables, whether open or closed

Does not exist in modern english

Front rounded vowel(you need to round
your lips wen u pronounce it)
Personally, I still find it very hard to hear the difference
between [ø] and [œ] in fast speech, but I can distinguish
them if they are isolated vowels.
Many English speakers tend to say [ə] instead of [œ]

Neuf, fleur, leur, cœur, jeune, meuble

Nearest (equivalent/approximation) English phoneme:/ /as in
Monsieur [mə(e)sjø]
10. [ø]
ay
[ø] jeu, yeux, queue, bleu eu
rounded
In stressed open syllables, only [ø] is possible
stressed, closed syllables, end in [t], [tR], or [z] - in which
case, [ø] can occur.
In unstressed syllables, whether open or closed
Does not exist in english
Front rounded vowel(you need to round
your lips wen u pronounce it)
Personally, I still find it very hard to hear the difference
between [ø] and [œ] in fast speech, but I can distinguish
them if they are isolated vowels.
Many English speakers tend to say [ə] instead of [ø]

feu, deux, adieu, jeûne, chanteuse

Nearest (equivalent/approximation) English phoneme: /ʊ /as in

11. [u]
O
[u] loup, cou, caillou, outil ou
o
poule, fou trou ,

Nearest (equivalent/approximation) English phoneme:/ /as in

Jouer[ we], jouet[ wɛ]
12. [y]
ee
[y] rue, jus, tissu, usine U
rounded
Does not exist in english
Front rounded vowel(you need to round
your lips wen u pronounce it)
Many English speakers tend to say [u] instead of [y]
Lune, tu
Juin [ ɥɛ̃]
Nasalized
No exact English equivalent

Nasal vowels
Noot exist in english
13. [ɛ]̃
in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un,
Ah pain, vin,
[ɛ̃] um,
n linge
en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, éen
cinq, pain, peinture, imparfait, daim
Initial [inisjɑl]
14. [ɑ̃]
aw
[ã] gant, banc, dent en, em, an, am, aon, aen
n
gant, jambe, dent, empereur
Nasalized
Maintenant [mɛ̃tnɑ̃]
ils ‫التنطق عند تصريف الفعل مع‬:Ent
Ils écrivent
 15. [ɔ̃]
oh
[õ] rond, ongle, front on, om
n
ballon, ombre
nasalized
Monsieur [m(e)sjø]
16. [œ̃]
Uh
[œ̃] brun, lundi, parfum Un
n
un, parfum
nasalized
lundi /lœ̃di/:
album [albɔm]

Semi-voyelles/semi-consonnes
Semi-vowels can also be called glides or approximants.

[j ]
fille, soleil, pied, crayon, lion, yeux
Notice that words ending in -eil or -eille are pronounced
[ej], while words ending in -ail or -aille are pronounced
[aj].
[ɥ]
ew-
[ɥ] lui, suisse ui
ee
Not exist in english
huit, sueur, suave, lui, huile, Saluer
[salɥe]
Uy=ui i,tuyau=(tui-iau)
[w]
poisson, ouate, oui,
Loin [lwɛ̃]
Oy=oi i, voyage=(voi-iage)
Consonnes
Even though most final consonants are not pronounced in
French , there are a few exceptions
Many of the consonants in French are very
similar to the consonants in English. A few
differences
[b]
Pronounced as in english
[c]
Final c silent
Blanc franc tabac estomac
Final c pronounced
Bouc lac avec donc

1. c+(a, o,u)=[k]
2. c+consonne=[k]
3. c+h =[k]
4. final =[k]
5. c+c=first[k],second[accordingly]
 6. c+h=[ʃ]
7. c+(e, I, y)=[s]
8. ç +(a, o,u)=[s]
9. c in some words=[g] second[səgɔ̃]

2.[d]
Liaison: d+voyelle=t
un grand enfant
3.[f]
Final f silent
Cléf cerf nerf
Final f pronounced
Œuf sauf veuf actif
Pronounced as in English
Liaison: the f of neuf is pronounced [v] only before ans
and heures and in all other cases, it remains [f].
f+voyelle=[v]
Neuf heure dix
4.[g]
The grapheme gu can be pronounced three different ways:
[g], [gw], [gɥ]
Anguille jaguar aiguilles
but the spelling will not tell you which sound to
pronounce, so you'll just have to learn them individually.
1.g+(a,o,u)=[g]
2.g+consonne=[g]
3.gu+(e,i)=[g]
 4.g+(e,I,y)=[ʒ] geste[ʒɛst]
5.h
The letter h is never pronounced, but you need to
remember to distinguish the h non-aspiré from the h
aspiré. Most words belong to the first group, but for the
words that have an h aspiré, there are two characteristics
that make them different: the definite article does not
reduce to l' (called elision) but remains le or la and word
boundaries are maintained so that sounds do not link
(absence of liaison - see below). Most words with an h
aspiré are of Germanic origin.
h non-aspiré h aspiré
l'habitude la hache
l'herbe le hall
l'heure le haricot
l'histoire le hasard
l'homme le hibou
l'honneur le homard
l'huile le hockey

6.j
[ʒ]
5.k
[Pronounced as in english]
6.l
Final l silent
Outil sourcil gentil persil
Final l pronounced
Fil avril civil col
[Pronounced as in english]
Rail [Raj]
Raillerie[RajRi]
Fille[fij]
Fils[fis]
Fil[fil]
7.m
[Pronounced as in english]
8.n
[Pronounced as in english]
9.ɲ
[nj]
Peigne[pɛɲ]
Vigne
10.[ŋ]
Camping
11.[p]
[Pronounced as in english]
11.q
The grapheme qu can be pronounced three different ways:
[k], [kw], [kɥ]
Question adequate quiescent
but the spelling will not tell you which sound to
pronounce, so you'll just have to learn them individually.
[k]
Qu=[k]question[kɛstjɔ̃]
Qu=[kw]adéquate[adekwat]
Cinq+voyelle=[k]cinq enfants
Cinq+consonne=not pronounced cinq cashiers
12.[ʀ]
Final r silent
Parler chercher habiter fermer
Final r pronounced
Car Mer Pour Hiver
[R] is articulated further back in the throat (with the back
of the tongue) and is usually the hardest French consonant
for English speakers to pronounce correctly. It is a voiced
uvular fricative sound and does not have an effect on
preceding vowels the way that American English r does. It
must remain consistent in all positions, regardless of the
other vowels and consonants that may be adjacent to it.
After Before
Intervocali
Initial consonan consonan Final
c
t t
rusé Droit arrêt partout Mer
rang Gris courir Merle Pire
rose Trou pleurer Corde sourd

Gh
Kh
Silent: parler
 13.s
In words ending in a consonant + s or -es, the s is silent.
However, if a word ends in -as, -ès, -is, -os, or -us, then the
s is sometimes pronounce
s = silent s = pronounced
Cadenzas Atlas
Débarras Pancreas
Accès Aloes
Exprès Palmarès
Logis Oasis
Clos Vis
Dessous Albatross
Confus Sinus
Dehors Ours

[s]
[z]
1. between 2 voyelle
2. before vowel(liaison): les élèves[lezelɛv]
14.[ʃ]
In the majority of words with the grapheme ch, the
pronunciation is [ʃ], but it is also pronounced [k] in
words of Greek origin. It is silent, however, in the
word almanach.
ch = [ʃ] ch = [k]
Chercher archéologie
 réchauffer chaos
Chérubin chrétien
architecte écho
catéchisme orchestre
Achille chœur
15.t
1. t=[t]as in english
2. th=[t] thé[te]
3. t+(ion, ien, iel, ial)=[s] nation[nasjɔ̃]
huit+voyelle=t, huit+consonne=not pronounced
16.v
As in English

16.w
1. w=[w]watt
2. w=[v]wagon[vagɔ̃]
18.[ʒ]
19.[x]
Xylophone[gz]
jota
1. x=[s], six[sis], dix-sept[dissɛt]
2. x=[z], dix-huit[dizɥit], dix-neuf[dizn
œf]
 3. x=[gz], exercice[ɛgzɛRsis]
4. x=[ks], sexe[sɛks]
5. silent=deux
6. liaison : beaux-yeux[bozjø]
7. x+consonne(months)=to be omitted
dix mars
17.z

Liaison : avez été[avezete]