KEY FRENCH SOUNDS & SPELLINGS
(A VERY GENERAL & SIMPLIFIED
REFERENCE)
Prior learning: Following on from the alphabet!
Jo Rhys-Jones, November 2011
Talkabout Primary Languages
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
vowels
 tricky consonants
 nasal phonemes on/an/en, in/ain/ein
 regular graphemes ou, au/eau, gn, ph
 graphemes which make more than one sound
 silent letters
 elision & liaison

VOYELLES:
a e
é
è-ê
i-y
o
u
A
a
chat
E – SAME SOUND MADE BY EU / ŒU
le
me
ne
je
e
neuf
œuf
deux
É – SAME SOUND MADE BY ER/EZ
é
décembre
regarder
levez la main!
café
bébé
éléphant
È-Ê
è-ê
frère
père
mère
SAME SOUND MADE BY AI/EI/ET
tête
pêche
zèbre
I-Y
dix
six
Yvonne
i-y
stylo
lit
bicyette
oO - SAME SOUND MADE BY
Ô/AU/EAU
piano
vélo, pot, hôtel,
beau, chaud
O – CAN ALSO BE A SHORT
SOUND
carotte
pomme, bol,
docteur
U

u



sucette
Put your finger in your
mouth like a lollipop.
Remove your finger but
keep your lips still.
Without moving your
lips, try to say ‘ee’
That is the French
sound ‘u’.
TRICKY CONSONANTS:
c
t
g
w
h
s
y
c
SOFT WHEN FOLLOWED BY E OR I
USUALLY A HARD SOUND
carotte
crayon, sac, café,
banc, caméra...
same sound as ç
cinéma
police, France, cent,
cinq, délicieux,
garçon...
g
USUALLY A HARD SOUND
gorille
gomme, guitare,
catalogue, regarder...
SOFT WHEN FOLLOWED BY E OR I
garage
pigeon, orange, genou,
girafe,
H IS SILENT
h
thé
héros
hôtel
s
USUALLY A SOFT SOUND
poisson
sac, soupe,
classe, danser...
HARD WHEN BETWEEN 2 VOWELS
oiseau
cuisine, visite,
rose, musique, chemise
tUSUALLY THE SAME SOUND
AS IN ENGLISH
tomate
tulipe, tarte,
moto, minute...
EXCEPTIONS – CAN CHANGE TO S
SOUND WHEN FOLLOWED BY I
dictionnaire
direction, addition,
patience, essentiel…
Do these words make a
normal t sound in English?
W IS ONLY USED IN WORDS THAT
ARE BORROWED FROM OTHER LANGUAGES
- MAKES THE SAME SOUND AS IN ENGLISH
w
kiwi
wagon
EXCEPT:
le wc
y
USUALLY SAME SOUND AS
FRENCH I
stylo
Yvonne, cycliste, Nancy
lycée, pyjama...
BUT SAME SOUND AS IN ENGLISH
WHEN BETWEEN 2 VOWELS
crayon
joyeux, loyal,
incroyable, voyage…
NASAL PHONEMES, :
on/an/en
Purists will rightly argue there is a very subtle difference between on and an/en but
it’s highly unlikely to be noticable up to GCSE level so I leave that to teacher discretion
and the level of your class…
in/ain/ein
ON/AN/EN:
on
an
en
bonjour
danse
dentiste
tombola
chambre
décembre
mouton
ALSO OM/AM/EM
lampe
enfants
om
am
em
IN/AIN/EIN:
in
ain
ein
vin
intelligent
train
demain
peinture
important
pain
ALSO IM
lapin
im
ceinture
REGULAR GRAPHEMES:
ou e/eu/oeu
oi
é/ez/er au/eau/ô
è/ai/ei/et ph gn
OU: ALWAYS MAKES THE SAME SOUND
ou
bouche
moutarde
souris
E/EU/ŒU: ALWAYS MAKE THE SAME SOUND
e
eu
œu
le
me
ne
je
neuf
œuf
deux
OI: ALWAYS MAKES THE SAME SOUND
oi
trois
histoire
étoile
É/EZ/ER: MAKE THE SAME SOUND
é
ez
er
décembre
levez la main!
janvier
jouer
nez
café
AU/EAU/Ô: MAKE THE SAME SOUND
o
ô
au
eau
hôtel
jaune
oiseau
taureau
moto
bateau
È/Ê/AI/EI/ET: ALL MAKE THE SAME SOUND
è
ê
ai
ei
et
frère
fête
chaise
neige
Paul et Liliane
robinet
baleine
j’aime
PH: MAKES THE SAME SOUND AS FRENCH F
ph
téléphone
éléphant
alphabet
GN: ALWAYS MAKES THE SAME SOUND
gn
araignée
signal
champignon
GRAPHEMES WITH MORE THAN ONE SOUND:
ch
ill
ail/eil/euil/ouil
ch
USUALLY A SOFT SOUND:
Chef
Charlotte, marché, chat
champagne, chocolat...
BUT HARD SOUND WHEN A GREEK
WORD – OFTEN BEFORE R OR L
Chrétien
orchestre, chœur,
chronique, technique…
ill
USUALLY A SOFTENED SOUND:
Famille
fille, vanille, gorille
gentille, habiller…
SOME EXCEPTIONS WHEN THE L
SOUND IS PRONOUNCED:
Million
village, ville, mille
tranquille
AIL/EIL/EUIL/OUIL: MAKE SIMILAR Y SOUND AT
THE END
ail
eil
euil
ouil
abeille
travail
soleil
feuille
nouille
bouillir
bouteille
médaille
Silent letters
USUALLY THE FINAL CONSONANT BUT THE LETTERS B C F K L Q R
IS NOT PRONOUNCED:
USUALLY ARE PRONOUNCED:
mouton
éléphant, lit, lapin
trois, froid, abricot…
Exceptions: ours, sud, autobus, tennis,
some names,
club
snob, flic, chef, anorak
avril, cinq, hiver
Exceptions: blanc, porc, clef, -er infinitives
ELISION/LIAISON:
when a word that ends in a normally silent consonant is
followed by a word that begins with a vowel or silent h, then the
consonant is pronounced – usually...
petit
le petit éléphant