How to Pronounce French Words

Making the Correct Vowel Sounds

Start with the French pure vowels. French has the same vowels as English: a, e, i, o, and u. With the exception of the letter e, French vowels are always pronounced the same. The addition of an accent mark sometimes changes the pronunciation, but not always. A circumflex ( ˆ ) over a vowel merely indicates that, historically, that vowel was followed by an s. An a, à, or â sounds like ah, regardless of the accent mark. However, an â is drawn out a little longer than the others. The à is used to distinguish between different words that are spelled the same, as in "la" (the) and "là" (there). An i or a y sounds like the ee in the English word "meet." An o sounds like the o in the English word "not." An ô sounds like oh. The French u is a sound that doesn't exist in English. To make it, say ee while rounding your lips, as though blowing out a candle.

Change your pronunciation of e depending on where it is in a word. Unlike the other pure vowels, the letter e is pronounced differently depending on whether it occurs in the middle of a syllable or at the end. In the middle of a syllable, an e sounds like the ai in the English word "fair." An e at the end of a syllable sounds like the er in the English word "her." An é sounds like the ay in the English word "play," wherever it appears in the word. For example, the word "été" (meaning "summer") is pronounced ay-tay. An e at the end of a word is silent. However, an é is always be pronounced. An è or an ê always sounds like the ai in the English word "fair," regardless of location. These accent marks do not appear over an e at the end of a word.

Learn blended vowels. As in English, many French words include 2 or 3 vowels side-by-side. These individual vowel sounds are not spoken individually. Rather, they blend together to create a new sound. An oi sounds like wah. An ou sounds like the oo in the English word "tooth." An ai or an ei sounds like the e in the English word "let." An au or an eau sounds like oh. An eu or an oeu sounds like the er in the English word "her."

Practice nasal vowel sounds. There are 5 nasal vowel sounds in French. These sounds actually aren't all that different from English sounds – although English has no distinct nasal vowels. To make the nasal vowel sounds, practice exhaling through your nose rather than your mouth as you speak. Sounds like the ong in the English word song: These are words with the letters om or on, such as "nom" (name) and "non" (no). Sounds like the ung in the English word sung: These are words with the letters um or un, such as "un" (one) and "brun" (brown). Sounds like ahng: These are words with the letters am, an, em, or en, such as "champ" (field), "temps" (time), or "an" (year). Sounds like the ang in the English word sang: These are words with the letters im, in, aim, ain, or ein, such as "vin" (wine), "bain" (bath), or "plein" (full). Sounds like ee-ang: These are words with the letters ien, such as "bien" (good/well).

Move your tongue upward to pronounce French semi-vowels. French has 3 semi-vowels, represented phonetically as [w], [ɥ], and [j]. These are essentially letters that, when combined with another vowel, create a consonant sound. When you pronounce a semi-vowel, your tongue hits the front part of the roof of your mouth. Your lips move quickly between a pucker and a smile. The [w] semi-vowel is similar to the letter w in English. When spelled oi, it makes a wah sound, as in the French word "moi" (me). When spelled oui, it makes a we sound. The [ɥ] semi-vowel is also similar to the English letter w. It always makes a tight wuh sound. You find it in words with a ui or a ue, as in the words "ennui" (boredom) or "duel" (duel). The [j] semi-vowel is similar to the letter y in the English word "yellow." It appears most often at the end of words – specifically, words ending -yant or -ille, as in "fille" (girl) or "effrayant" (frightening). Expert Answer Q When asked, “How can you get better at French pronunciation?” Lorenzo Garriga Lorenzo Garriga French Translator & Native Speaker Lorenzo is a native French speaker and French language connoisseur. He has many years of experience as a translator, writer and reviewer. He is also a composer, pianist, and globe-trotter, who has been travelling the world on a shoestring for almost 30 years with a backpack. Lorenzo Garriga EXPERT ADVICE Answer from Lorenzo Garriga: Lorenzo Garriga, a French translator, responded: “The best way to get better at pronunciation is to repeat the word constantly. Repeat the skill until you get the pronunciation the way it truly is.”

Saying French Consonants

Pronounce most French consonants the same as their English counterparts. The consonants b, d, f, l, m, n, v, and z are all pronounced the same in French as they are in English. These letters never vary in pronunciation, although they may be silent. With the exception of f and l, all of these letters are silent at the end of words. However, if the word that follows starts with a vowel, they will be pronounced as usual.

Memorize French consonants that sound different than their English counterparts. There are 2 French consonants that look like English letters, but make completely different sounds. If English is your first language, these may trip you up at first. You'll get them with practice. The French j sounds like the s in the English word "measure." The French q or qu always sounds like the k in the English word "kit."

Recognize consonants with alternate pronunciations. Several French consonants have different pronunciations depending on the vowel that follows them or where they are in a word. Many of these are similar to "hard" and "soft" consonants in English. When it comes before an e or an i, the letter c sounds like an s, similar to the "soft c" in the English word "menace." Otherwise, the letter c sounds like a k. However, there are some French words in which the c sounds like an s even though it isn't followed by an e or an i. For these, an accent mark is added to the letter, and you have ç as in the word ça (pronounced sah, meaning "that"). When a g comes before an e or an i, it sounds like the s in the English word "measure." Elsewhere, it makes a hard g sound like the g in the English word "go." The French s sounds the same as the English s at the beginning of a word. However, whenever it is between 2 vowels, it sounds like the English z.

Practice the French r until you get it right. The French r is spoken from the back of your throat, similar to the sound you make when gargling. You make the sound by pressing the back of your tongue against your throat as you push air around it. To practice, try gargling a liquid in your upper throat and making a sound at the same time. When you can do this consistently, try the same thing again, but with no liquid. The French r has no equivalent sound in English, so it can be difficult. However, if you simply pronounce it the same as an English r, you won't be able to pronounce French words correctly.

Remember that the French h is always silent. In French, the letter h is never pronounced with a hard h sound, as in English. This is true no matter where the letter is in the word. Even if a word starts with an h, it still isn't pronounced. For example, the word hiver (winter) is pronounced ee-vair. The consonant blend ch is most commonly pronounced like an sh. In a few loanwords from other languages, it is pronounced like a k, but never like the ch in the English word "chatter."

Avoid aspirating the consonants p, t, and k. These consonants are aspirated in English, which means that you blow a puff of air out of your mouth when you pronounce them. However, in French, these consonants are typically not aspirated. French speakers do occasionally aspirate these consonants, but only if they are angry or upset about something. So aspirating these consonants can send the wrong impression and my offend someone. To practice, put a piece of paper in front of your mouth and say the word paper. If the paper moves, you are aspirating. Keep practicing until you get it right.

Combining Letters to Say Words

Ignore consonants at the end of words. The final consonant on a French word is almost always silent. The only final consonants that are ever pronounced are b, c, f, k, l, q, and r, although these are not always pronounced. For example, you would not pronounce the final consonant of words such as "grand" (large), "beaucoup" (a lot, many), or "temps" (time, the weather). The letters b, k, and q are rarely the final consonant of a word. They usually appear in loanwords from other languages. Final consonants that are usually pronounced are silent if they follow a nasal consonant, such as n. For example, you would pronounce the c at the end of the word "avec" (with), but not at the end of the word "blanc" (white). An l is always pronounced at the end of a word, unless it follows an i that follows another vowel, as in the word "travail" (job). As in English, there are exceptions to every rule. If you're not sure, you're usually better off not pronouncing the final consonant. Listen to a native speaker pronounce the word, both by itself and in a sentence, to make sure.

Leave off pronouncing -ent at the end of French verbs. Many words in French end in -ent. The ending is usually pronounced ahn. However, when these letters are used as the plural ending for French verbs, they are silent. For example, the verb "mangent" (they eat) is pronounced mahnzhe. An -ent at the end of a noun, adjective, or adverb is pronounced, as in the words "appartement" (apartment, pronounced ah-pahr-teh-mahn) and "vraiment" (truly/really, pronounced vray-mahn).

Memorize syllables that vary significantly from English. Especially at the end of words, some French syllables sound quite different than they would in English. To avoid slipping up, it's usually best to memorize the French pronunciation of these syllables. er sounds like the ay in "play." This is the infinitive ending for all verbs. It also appears at the end of other words with 2 or more syllables. ez at the end of any word also sounds like the ay in the English word "play." ail at the end of a word sounds like ah-ee. eil or eille also sounds like ah-ee. ill usually sounds like eey. gn sounds like the ni in the English word "onion."

Flow words together to form liaisons when appropriate. The rule here is relatively straightforward. If a word that ends in a consonant is followed by a word that begins in a vowel, the two words are spoken together. The ending consonant of the first word becomes a part of the first syllable of the second word. For example, if you said "nous avons," ("we have"), the s at the end of the word nous would flow into the a at the beginning of the word avons. The resulting phrase is pronounced noo ZAH-vong. Try another: the phrase "un petit enfant" means "a small child." The word petit ends in a consonant, while the word enfant begins with a vowel. This calls for a liaison. Accordingly, the phrase would be pronounced ung p'tee TAHNG-fahng.

Note consonants that are pronounced differently in liaisons. Basic liaisons are fairly simple to grasp. However, there are 3 consonants that are pronounced differently when they occur at the end of a word that is followed by a word starting with a vowel. You'll find that if you flow the words quickly together, you naturally make these alternate pronunciations. The change makes the words flow together more easily. An s or x sounds like a z. For example, the phrase deux ans (two years) is pronounced der zahng. A d sounds like a t. For example, the phrase un grand arbre (a tall tree) is pronounced ung grahng tahbr. An f sounds like a v. For example, the phrase neuf heures (nine hours) is pronounced ner verr.

Place stress on the last full syllable of a word. Figuring out which syllable gets the stress in English can be complicated. However, in French, the last full syllable always gets the stress. A full syllable has at least one consonant and at least one voiced vowel. Because an e at the end of a word is always silent, there are French words for which the last syllable is not a full syllable. With these words, place the stress on the syllable before the last syllable. For example, the French word table is pronounced TAH-bluh. Similarly, sentence stress in French is relatively even. While in English, you would only stress nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs, you stress all words equally in French.