French. Reading. Vowels & Consonants

/ɑ̃/ – sans, lampe, champ, tante → 'ah' with nose (like song); English: 'song', 'long'

AN, AM – Nasal sound and example?

/ɑ̃/ – enfant, temps, vent, demain → same as above; English: 'song', 'wrong'

EN, EM – Nasal sound and example?

/ɛ̃/ – vin, pain, simple, certain → 'ang' in hang (nasalized); English: 'hang', 'sang'

IN, IM, EIN, AIN – Nasal sound and example?

/ɔ̃/ – nom, plomb, pont, ombre → 'own' with nose; English: 'tone', 'bone'

ON, OM – Nasal sound and example?

/œ̃/ – un, parfum, brun, commun → 'uh' nasalized (unique in French); English: 'bun', 'fun'

UN, UM – Nasal sound and example?

/s/ – cent, cire, cycle, citron → like 's' in see; English: 'see', 'city'

C before E, I, or Y – How is it pronounced?

/k/ – car, couleur, club, carte → like 'k' in cat; English: 'cat', 'cake'

C before A, O, U or consonant – Pronunciation?

Turns C into /s/ before A, O, U → garçon, leçon, façade, français → 's' sound; English: 'sun', 'soft'

Ç (cedilla) – What does it do?

/ʒ/ – général, girafe, gymnase, gentil → like 'zh' in measure; English: 'measure', 'vision'

G before E, I, or Y – Pronunciation?

/g/ – garçon, goutte, glace, grand → like 'g' in go; English: 'go', 'game'

G before A, O, U – Pronunciation?

/ɲ/ – montagne, signe, digne, agneau → like 'ny' in canyon; English: 'canyon', 'onion'

GN – How is it pronounced?

/ʃ/ – chat, chocolat, chemise, cher → like 'sh' in shoe; English: 'shoe', 'ship'

CH – Common pronunciation?

/f/ – philosophie, photo, phare, physique → like 'f' in fun; English: 'fun', 'fish'

PH – Pronunciation?

/k/ – qui, quand, quatre, question → like 'k' in king; English: 'king', 'kite'

QU – How is it pronounced?

/z/ – maison, visite, rose, musique → like 'z' in zero; English: 'zero', 'zebra'

S between vowels – Pronunciation?

/s/ – salut, sport, soleil, surprise → like 's' in see; English: 'see', 'sun'

S elsewhere (start or after consonant) – Sound?

/sj/ – nation, patient, action, option → like 'sy' or 'sh' sound; English: 'she', 'sure'

TI + vowel (in nouns like 'nation') – Pronunciation?

Usually silent – heure, homme, hôtel, histoire → not pronounced; English: silent like 'hour', 'honest'

H – How is it treated in French?

Often /j/ – fille, famille, feuille, soleil → like 'y' in yes; English: 'yes', 'yard'

LL after I (like in fille) – How is it pronounced?

/ʁ/ – rue, rouge, rire, rapide → guttural throat sound (not rolled); English: no equivalent, unlike 'run', 'red'

R – What’s special about it?

Usually silent – petit, trop, long, prix, chaud, sac → not pronounced; English: silent like 'dumb', 'lamb'

Final consonants (D, S, T, X, P, G) – Are they silent?

Often pronounced → vous avez, les amis, un enfant, trop utile → /vu.z‿a.ve/, /le.z‿a.mi/, /œ̃.n‿ɑ̃.fɑ̃/, /tro.p‿y.til/; English: no equivalent, unlike 'cat', 'dog'

Final consonant before a vowel (liaison) – What happens?

/a/ – papa, chat, ami, table → 'ah' in father; English: 'father', 'car'

A – What is the sound and example?

/ə/ – le, je, petit, demain → 'uh' (very soft); English: 'about', 'sofa'

E (unstressed) – Sound and example?

/ɛ/ – mère, père, belle, mer → 'eh' in bed; English: 'bed', 'pet'

E (in mère) – Sound and example?

/e/ – école, parler, nez, été → 'ay' in say; English: 'say', 'day'

É, ER, EZ – Sound and example?

/i/ – si, île, ami, livre → 'ee' in see; English: 'see', 'tree'

I, Î – Sound and example?

/ɔ/ – porte, sort, pomme, corps → 'aw' in law; English: 'law', 'saw'

O – Sound and example?

/o/ – eau, chaud, bateau, haut → 'oh' in go; English: 'go', 'show'

AU, EAU – Sound and example?

/u/ – fou, jour, loup, cour → 'oo' in food; English: 'food', 'moon'

OU – Sound and example?

/y/ – tu, sûr, mur, rue → 'ee' with rounded lips (like German ü); English: no equivalent, unlike 'cute', 'use'

U, Û – Sound and example?

/ɥi/ – nuit, fruit, lui, bruit → Quick 'wee' with rounded lips; English: no equivalent, unlike 'sweet', 'week'

UI – Sound and example?

/ø/ or /œ/ – peur, deux, sœur, jeune → 'er' in her (with rounded lips); English: no equivalent, unlike 'her', 'fur'

EU, ŒU – Sound and example?