French Pronunciation and IPA Spellings

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering French vowel and consonant spellings, rules, and their corresponding IPA transcriptions based on the lecture guide.

French spelling "-a or -à"

Usually pronounced as [a] in IPA, as in Paris [pa.ri] and là [la].

French spelling "-â" (except in verb forms) and "-a" before [s] and [z] sounds

Pronounced as [ɑ] in IPA, as in pale [pɑ.lə], extase [ɛks.tɑ.zə], and lacer [lɑ.se].

French spellings "-ai, -aî, -aie, -ais, -aise, -ait, -aient"

Usually pronounced as [ɛ] in IPA, as in mais [mɛ].

French spelling "-ai" in forms of faire before [z]

Pronounced as [ə] in IPA in some verb forms of faire when before [z], such as faisais [fə.zɛ] and faisons [fə.zõ].

French spelling "-ai" final

Pronounced as [e] in IPA, as in gai [ge].

French spellings "-ail, -aill, -aille"

Pronounced as [aj] in IPA, as in travail [tra.vaj] and cailloux [ka.ju].

French spellings "-aim, -ain" (final or before a consonant except -m, -n, -h)

Pronounced as the nasal vowel [ɛ̃] in IPA, as in faim [fɛ̃] and ainsi [ɛ̃.si].

French spellings "-am, -an, -aon" (final or before a consonant except -m, -n, -h)

Pronounced as the nasal vowel [ã] in IPA, as in champ [ʃã] and fumant [fy.mã].

French spelling "-au"

Pronounced as [o] in IPA (e.g., chaud [ʃo]), and as [ɔ] when placed before -r (e.g., Fauré [fɔ.ʁe]).

French spelling "-é"

Pronounced as [e] in IPA, as in été [e.te].

French spellings "-è, -ê, -ë"

Pronounced as [ɛ] in IPA, as in père [pɛ.ʁə], forêts [fɔ.ʁɛ], and Noël [nɔ.ɛl].

French spelling "-e" before a single consonant and a vowel

Pronounced as [ə] in IPA, as in cheval [ʃə.val].

French spelling "-e" final

Silent in spoken French (e.g., parle [paʁl]), but pronounced as [ə] when sung (e.g., parle [paʁ.lə]).

French spelling "-er" final

Pronounced as [ɛʁ] generally in non-verb forms (e.g., hiver [i.vɛʁ]) and [e] in verb endings and some nouns and adjectives (e.g., parler [paʁ.le], boulanger [bu.lã.ʒe]).

French spelling "-es" final in monosyllables

Pronounced as [e] before a closed vowel (e.g., les [le]) and as [ɛ] before an open vowel (e.g., des [dɛ]).

French spellings "-eim & -ein" (final or before a consonant except -m, -n, -h)

Pronounced as the nasal vowel [ɛ̃] in IPA, as in plein [plɛ̃].

French spellings "-em & -en" (final or before a consonant except -m, -n, -h)

Pronounced as the nasal vowel [ã] in IPA, as in ensemble [ã.sã.blə].

French spelling "-ent" final

Pronounced as [ã] in standard word endings (e.g., firmament [fiʁ.ma.mã]), but pronounced as [ə] in third person plural verb endings (e.g., parlent [paʁ.lə]).

French spelling "-eu"

Pronounced as [œ] in the interior of a word (e.g., heure [œ.ʁə]), and [ø] before [z] (e.g., creuse [kø.zə]) or as a final sound (e.g., peu [pø]).

French spelling "-i" with accents (-î, -ï)

Pronounced as [i] in IPA, whether as single -i (finir), -î with circonflexe (île), or -ï with diérèse (Aïda).

French spellings "-il", "-ille", and medial "-ill"

Pronounced as [j] in IPA (e.g., aille [aj]), except in specific words like mille, tranquille, and ville (and their derivatives) where it is pronounced as [l].

French spelling "-o"

Pronounced as [ɔ] preceding a consonant or vowel (e.g., doter [dɔ.te]), and as [o] when a final sound (e.g., mot [mo]), with ô (e.g., ôter [o.te]), or before [z] (e.g., rose [ʁo.zə]).

French spelling "-oi"

Pronounced as [wa] in IPA, as in voix [vwa].

French spellings "-om, -on" (final or before a consonant except -m, -n, -h)

Pronounced as the nasal vowel [õ] in IPA, as in nom [nõ] and pigeon [pi.ʒõ].

French spellings "-u, -û, -ü(e), -ue"

Pronounced as [y] in IPA (e.g., murmure [my.my.ʁə]), but silent after g- and q- (e.g., guitare [gi.ta.ʁə]).

French spellings "-um, -un" (final or before a consonant except -m, -n, -h)

Pronounced as the nasal vowel [œ̃] in IPA, as in brun [bʁœ̃].

French spelling "-y"

Pronounced as [i] except when nasal (e.g., martyr [maʁ.tiʁ], hymne [im.nə]), and as [j] initial in a word (e.g., yeux [jø]) or between two vowels (e.g., royal [ʁwa.jal]).

French spelling "-c" and "-cc"

Pronounced as [s] (for -c) or [ks] (for -cc) before front vowels (-e, -i, -y), and as [k] before back vowels (-a, -o, -u) or consonants.

French letter "d" in liaison

Pronounced as [t] in liaison, as in grand_arbre [grã. taʁ.bʁə].

French letter "f" in liaison

Pronounced as [v] in liaison, as in neuf_heures [nœ. vœ.ʁe].

French letter "g" rules

Pronounced as [ʒ] before front vowels (-e, -i, -y), [g] before back vowels (-a, -o, -u) or consonants, silent when final, and [k] in liaison (e.g., sang_et eau [sã. ke o]).

Initial -h Mute vs Aspirate

Initial mute -h allows liaison or elision (e.g., douze_heure [du. zœ.ʁə]), while initial aspirate -h allows no linking (e.g., tres *hideuse [trɛ i.dø.zə]); both types are silent.

French letter "s" medial between vowels

Pronounced as [z] in IPA, as in maison [mɛ.zõ].

French spelling "-ti" in "-tion" and "-tience"

Pronounced as [sj] in IPA, as in attention [a.tã.sjõ].

French letter "x" pronunciations

Pronounced as [ks] before consonants (texte), [gz] before vowels or -h (exemple), and [z] in numbers (deuxieme) or in liaison (deux_enfants).

French IPA Sound Summary Chart

A comprehensive reference table listing French vowels, semi-vowels, and consonants alongside their standard spellings and representative French word examples with IPA transcriptions.