Section 2 / Lecture 9 – A comme André – French Vowels and Semi-Vowels
Intro
And now it’s time to learn the French vowels and semi-vowels. Many of them are pronounced
in a different way than their English counterparts. There are also quite a few that do not exist
in English at all, the most characteristic ones being nasal vowels.
How a vowel is pronounced is often influenced by its surroundings. That’s why a vowel may be
pronounced in a slightly different way when on its own and when it’s followed by a particular
consonant or another vowel.
1 - A, À, Â
This letter is pronounced like A in the English word FATHER.
a, à, â
like a in father
2 - A, À, Â exercise
Read the following words:
1) là-bas
2) pâte
3) tasse
tasse, là-bas, pâte
3 - AIL
This letter combination is pronounced like Y in the English word MY.
ail
travail, ail, chandail
like y in my
4 - AIL exercise
Read the following words:
1) ail
2) chandail
3) travail
5 - É, ER, EZ, ES
These letters and letter combinations are pronounced more or less like AY in the English word
MAY, without the Y being pronounced. This is a closed E.
é, er, ez, es
like ay in May
pré, aller, venez, mes
6 - É, ER, EZ, ES exercise
Read the following words:
1) aller
3) pré
2) mes
4) venez
7 - È, Ê, E + double consonants, final ET, AI, EI
These letters and letter combinations are pronounced more or less like E in the English word
SET. This is an open E.
è, ê, e + double consonants, final et, ai, ei
like e in set
mère, tête, belle, secret, mais, neige
8 - È, Ê, E + double consonants, final ET, AI, EI exercise
Read the following words:
1) belle
4) neige
2) mais
5) secret
3) mère
6) tête
9 - E in one-syllable words, EU
These letters and letter combinations are pronounced more or less like U in the English word
DULL. In order to produce this sound try to say the closed E sound, rounding your lips at the
same time. This is a closed version of this sound.
e in one-syllable words, eu
like u in dull
10 - E in one-syllable words, EU exercise
Read the following words:
1) bleu
2) le
3) peu
le, peu, bleu
11 - EUR, ŒU, ŒUR
These letter combinations are pronounced just like the previous ones, but more open. In order
to produce this sound try to say the open E sound, rounding your lips at the same time. This is
an open version of this sound.
EUR, ŒU, ŒUR
like u in dull, open
12 - EUR, ŒU, ŒUR exercise
Read the following words:
1) fleur
2) œuf
3) sœur
fleur, œuf, sœur
13 - EIL, EILL, EILLE
This letter combination is pronounced like AY in the English word DAY.
eil, eill, eille
like ay in day
Marseille, meilleur, veille
14 - EIL, EILL, EILLE exercise
Read the following words:
1) Marseille
2) meilleur
3) veille
15 - I, Î, Y, IE in final position
These letters and letter combinations are pronounced like EE in the English word MEET.
i, î, y, ie in final position
like ee in meet
cri, île, y, bougie
16 - I, Î, Y, IE in final position exercise
Read the following words:
1) bougie
3) île
2) cri
4) y
17 - I / Y + vowel
These letter combinations are pronounced like Y in the English word YES.
i / y + vowel
like y in yes
18 - I / Y + vowel exercise
Read the following words:
1) bien
2) pioche
3) yeux
bien, pioche, yeux
19 - ILL
This letter combination is pronounced like EE in the English word FEED, followed by a Y sound
like in DAY.
ill
like ee in feed + y
fille, famille, billard
20 - ILL exercise
Read the following words:
1) billard
2) famille
3) fille
21 - Final O, O before S, Ô, AU, AUX, EAU, EAUX
This is the closed version of O.
final o, o before s, ô, au, aux, eau, eaux
closed o
vélo, rose, hôtel, auto, aux, cadeau, beaux
22 - Final O, O before S, Ô, AU, AUX, EAU, EAUX exercise
Read the following words:
1) auto
5) hôtel
2) aux
6) rose
3) beaux
7) vélo
4) cadeau
23 - O + consonant
O is pronounced like an open O in the English word NOSE when it’s followed by a consonant
other than S.
o
like o in nose
homme, bonne, pomme
24 - O + consonant exercise
Read the following words:
1) bonne
2) homme
3) pomme
25 - OI, UA
These diphthongs are pronounced like WO in the English word WON.
oi, ua
like wo in won
26 - OI, UA exercise
Read the following words:
1) guano
2) moi
3) quoi
moi, quoi, guano
27 - OY
This diphthong is pronounced like WO in the English word WON followed by a Y sound.
oy
voyage, nettoyer, croyez
like wo in won + y
28 - OY exercise
Read the following words:
1) croyez
2) nettoyer
3) voyage
29 - OU, OÙ, OÛ
These diphthongs are pronounced like OO in the English word FOOD.
ou, où, oû
like oo in food
pouce, où, coûter
30 - OU, OÙ, OÛ exercise
Read the following words:
1) coûter
2) où
3) pouce
31 - OUI
This letter comination is pronounced like WEE in the English word WEED.
oui
like wee in weed
32 - OUI exercise
Read the following words:
1) oui
2) ouïr
oui, ouïr
33 - U, Û
In order to pronounce this sound, try to say EE, but round your lips at the same time.
u, û
like ee in feed, rounded
34 - U, Û exercise
Read the following words:
1) flûte
2) jupe
3) tu
tu, jupe, flûte
35 - UI, UE
In these letter combinations the first sound is pronounced very much like W in the English
word WEED, actually it’s pronounced like the sound U described before followed by the vowel
I or E.
ui, ue
U+I/E
huit, fruit, muet
36 - UI, UE exercise
Read the following words:
1) fruit
2) huit
3) muet
37 - Nasal Vowels
There are a couple of nasal vowels in French. They are produced through your mouth and
nose simultaneously. In written nasal vowels are made up of one or more vowel letters (A, E, I,
O, U, Y) followed by M or N followed by a consonant other than M or N or not followed by anything.
38 - AN, AM, EN, EM
These letter combinations are pronounced like nasalized A, which is approximately comparable to ON in the English word FOND.
an, am, en, em
nasalized a, close to on in fond
sans, lampe, pente, exemple
39 - AN, AM, EN, EM exercise
Read the following words:
1) exemple
3) pente
2) lampe
4) sans
40 - AIN, AIM, EIN, EN, IN, IM, UN, YM, YN
These letter combinations are pronounced like nasalized E, which is approximately comparable to AN in the English word SLANG.
AIN, AIM, EIN, EN, IN, IM, UN, YM, YN
nasalized e, close to an in slang
bien, faim, brun, fin, sympa
41 - AIN, AIM, EIN, EN, IN, IM, UN, YM, YN exercise
Read the following words:
1) bien
4) fin
2) brun
5) sympa
3) faim
42 - ON, OM
These letter combinations are pronounced like nasalized O, which is approximately comparable to ON in the English word LONG.
on, om
nasalized o, close to on in long
bon, combien, nom
43 - ON, OM exercise
Read the following words:
1) bon
2) combien
3) nom