Phonetics

The French language has 36 basic sounds distributed in Vowels (16 sounds), Consonants (17 sounds) and Semivowels (3 sounds).

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VOWELS

PHONETIC SYMBOL	FRENCH EXAMPLE	ENGLISH EXAMPLE
	sounds like	sounds like
	i in lit	ee in bee
	u in lune	between i in bit and u in put
	ou in poule	u in put
	é in clé	e in bet
	ê in forêt	ea in bear
	eu in bleu	no corresponding sound in English
	eu in fleur	no corresponding sound in English
	e in regarder	a in amend
	o in rose	oa in soap
	o in coq	o in lot
	a in radio	no corresponding sound in English
	â in âne	a in father
	ain in pain	nasal
	un in brun	nasal
	on in avion	nasal
	an in éléphant	nasal

PHONETIC SYMBOL	FRENCH EXAMPLE	ENGLISH EXAMPLE
	sounds like	sounds like
	b in bois	b in bay
	p in pelle	p in pat
	d in dauphin	d in dab
	t in train	t in tap
	g in gâteau	g in go
	c in clou	c in cat
	v in vert	v in vat
	f in fromage	f in fat
	z in zèbre	s in business
	s in singe	s in sat
	g in bougie	g in beige
	ch in chat	sh in dish
	m in mer	m in mat
	n in nager	n in no
	gn in montagne	no corresponding sound in English
	l in lampe	l in lad
	r in arbre	no corresponding sound in English

PHONETIC SYMBOL	FRENCH EXAMPLE	ENGLISH EXAMPLE
	sounds like	sounds like
	i in violon	y in yet
	hu in huit	no corresponding sound in English
	ou in jouer	w in why

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