I can read aloud an unfamiliar French word with ou, oi, eau, ch, gn, qu, ph, and a nasal vowel without mixing up [y] and [u], adding an n to a nasal vowel, or adding a glide to é and o.
Two letters, one sound
Letter pairs and letters with two sounds
Letter pairs. ou — [u], the oo of “food” (le journal); oi — [wa] (le poisson); au and eau — [o], like “go” with no w at the end (le bureau); eu and œu — [ø] or [œ] (le jeu, l'ordinateur); ai and ei — [ɛ], as in “bet” (la chaise).
Consonant pairs. ch — [ʃ], the sh of “shoe” (la chaise); gn — [ɲ], one sound, like ny in “canyon” (la montagne); qu — just [k], never “kw” (la question); ph — [f] (la photo); gu before e and i — [ɡ] (la guitare).
c and g each have two sounds, and the next letter chooses. Before a, o, u: c — [k] (le café, écouter), g — [ɡ] (the first g in le garage). Before e, i, y: c — [s] (le cinéma), g — [ʒ], the s of “measure” (the second g in le garage). The letter j gives the same [ʒ], never the j of “jam”: le jardin, le journal.
The letter s between two vowels sounds [z]: la maison [mɛzɔ̃], la chaise [ʃɛz]. To keep the sound [s], French writes ss: le poisson [pwasɔ̃].
Common mistakes:
• NOT [kwɛstjɔ̃] — qu is [k]: la question [kɛstjɔ̃].
• NOT [mɛsɔ̃] — s between vowels is [z]: [mɛzɔ̃].
• NOT [pɔɪsɔn] — oi is [wa]: le poisson [pwasɔ̃].
• NOT [ˈdʒɝnəl] — j is [ʒ] and ou is [u]: le journal [ʒuʁnal].
Two letters, one sound
The letters c and g each have two sounds, and the next letter decides which.
| Letters | Sound | Example | NOT like this |
|---|---|---|---|
| ou | [u] | le journal | not [ʒyʁnal] |
| oi | [wa] | le poisson | — |
| au, eau | [o] | le bureau | — |
| eu | [ø] | le jeu | — |
| ai, ei | [ɛ] | la chaise | — |
| ch | [ʃ] | la chaise | — |
| gn | [ɲ] | la montagne | — |
| qu | [k] | la question | not [kw] |
| ph | [f] | la photo | not [p] |
| c before a, o, u | [k] | le café | — |
| c before e, i | [s] | le cinéma | not [k] |
| g before a, o, u | [ɡ] | le garage — the first g | — |
| g before e, i | [ʒ] | le garage — the second g | — |
| s between vowels | [z] | la maison | not [s] |
Lesson notes
Letter pairs and letters with two sounds
Letter pairs. ou — [u], the oo of “food” (le journal); oi — [wa] (le poisson); au and eau — [o], like “go” with no w at the end (le bureau); eu and œu — [ø] or [œ] (le jeu, l'ordinateur); ai and ei — [ɛ], as in “bet” (la chaise).
Consonant pairs. ch — [ʃ], the sh of “shoe” (la chaise); gn — [ɲ], one sound, like ny in “canyon” (la montagne); qu — just [k], never “kw” (la question); ph — [f] (la photo); gu before e and i — [ɡ] (la guitare).
c and g each have two sounds, and the next letter chooses. Before a, o, u: c — [k] (le café, écouter), g — [ɡ] (the first g in le garage). Before e, i, y: c — [s] (le cinéma), g — [ʒ], the s of “measure” (the second g in le garage). The letter j gives the same [ʒ], never the j of “jam”: le jardin, le journal.
The letter s between two vowels sounds [z]: la maison [mɛzɔ̃], la chaise [ʃɛz]. To keep the sound [s], French writes ss: le poisson [pwasɔ̃].
Common mistakes:
• NOT [kwɛstjɔ̃] — qu is [k]: la question [kɛstjɔ̃].
• NOT [mɛsɔ̃] — s between vowels is [z]: [mɛzɔ̃].
• NOT [pɔɪsɔn] — oi is [wa]: le poisson [pwasɔ̃].
• NOT [ˈdʒɝnəl] — j is [ʒ] and ou is [u]: le journal [ʒuʁnal].
Five habits to switch off
Nasal vowels. an, am, en, em — [ɑ̃] (le français); on, om — [ɔ̃] (la maison, le poisson); in, im, ain, ein, un — [ɛ̃] (le jardin). The air goes through the nose, and the n or m itself is not heard: stop on the vowel, with no n or ng.
There's no nasal vowel if n or m is followed by a vowel or by a second n or m: le cinéma, l'ordinateur, le téléphone — here you hear a plain vowel and a real [n].
[y] and [u] are different sounds. [y]: say “ee” as in “see”, then round your lips for “oo” without moving your tongue — la rue, le bureau. [u]: the oo of “food” — le journal, le loup.
Vowels are never reduced to “uh”, and no syllable is stressed: le téléphone is [telefɔn], three full vowels in a row. Keep é and o still, with no glide: le café [kafe], la photo [fɔto].
The letter r is made at the back of the throat, like a soft gargle, with the tongue tip down: la rue, l'ordinateur, la guitare. Never the American r.
Common mistakes:
• NOT [dʒaʁdɛ̃] — le jardin [ʒaʁdɛ̃]: a pure [ʒ] and a nasal vowel at the end.
• NOT [ˈtɛləfoʊn] — no stress, no “uh”, no glide: [telefɔn].
• NOT [fʁɑ̃nseɪ] — no n after the nasal vowel: le français [fʁɑ̃sɛ].
• NOT [sɛ̃ema] — n is followed by é, so there's no nasal vowel: [sinema].