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 

CONSONANTS 

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

SEMIVOWELS

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

EXERCISE  1  EXERCISE  2

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© Anotek, Inc.  - Copyright 1999 - Patent Pending
Revised: 25 September 2000
Copyright © 1996 Anotek, Inc.
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