Essential Rules of French Pronunciation for Beginners
Liaisons in the French language
The French language always strives to sound as melodious and pleasant as possible. Therefore, many French words merge together. This merging of words is called liaison. A consonant from one word, which is often silent in French, is taken and added to the beginning of the following word. However, liaison only occurs when the second word begins with either a silent "h" or a vowel.
Here are a few examples:
le s a mis - le (s)amins
il s o nt - Il (s)ont
peti t enfant - peti (t)enfant
premie r a mour - premie (r)amour
When pronouncing French liaisons, the pronunciation of the consonants that follow the word often changes. For example, the D is pronounced like a t (grand ami). The pronunciation of the S (Ils ont) also changes in liaisons. The S in liaison is pronounced like a soft S (Ils ont) and comes quite close to a buzzing Z.
Consonant Pronunciation Rules in French
The pronunciation of French consonants is similar to German pronunciation in most cases. However, there are some exceptions where you need to adjust your pronunciation of the French consonants slightly. The following table gives you a good overview of most of these exceptions. It's best to use the French example words and practice your French pronunciation with them.
| Column | French Pronounciation | Examples |
| h | It will not be explicitly stated. | h aut, h ier, l' h iver |
| j | It is pronounced like a soft "j" sound (e.g., in Genie). | j eter, j aune, j olie |
| G | Before i and e, it sounds like a voiced sh (Genie), before a, o and u, like a normal g (Gang) | la g are, g énial, g entil |
| c | Before a, o, u it sounds like a k, and before i and e it sounds like a Spanish s. | le cadeau , la coiffure , le ciel , la ceinture |
As you probably know, French has the peculiarity that the last part of words is often silent. This is because, as a rule, the so-called final consonants, which, as the name suggests, are located at the end of words, are not pronounced in French. The final consonant "s" in particular is frequently silent. Unfortunately, there are no fixed rules for the pronunciation of French final consonants. For example, the final consonant "r" is silent in words like "visiter" or "pour," but clearly pronounced in words like "dormir" or "pouvoir."
As a general rule of thumb, you can remember that most final consonants in French are silent. However, the more you engage with French and the more new words you learn, the better your intuition will become, and the easier it will be for you to recognize which final consonants are actually pronounced.
Pronunciation of Vowels in French
The pronunciation of French vowels is an important and comprehensive topic in French pronunciation. The following sections explain nasal vowels, accented and unaccented vowels, and vowel combinations in more detail. To help you practice your French pronunciation directly, French example words follow the explanations, allowing you to immediately test your vowel pronunciation.
Nasal Vowels in the French language
Pronouncing French vowels is a real challenge at first. The nasal vowels, in particular, which are typical of the French language, require a lot of practice. Since the nasal sound is one of the defining characteristics of French, the time you spend practicing nasal sounds is well spent.
The following vowels are typical and very common nasal vowels in the French language. To help you start practicing right away, we've provided some example words where you can hear the respective nasal sound.
| Nasal Vowel | French Example Words |
| en, em | le chi en , em brasser, en core |
| on, at | la c am pagne, le croiss an t, l' am bul an ce |
| in, in | c in q, le pouss in, im patient |
| on, om | le b on b on, pard on, le poiss on, le prén om |
| and to | le l un di, auc un, parf um |
To improve your French pronunciation, you should definitely practice pronouncing nasal vowels. Nasal pronunciation means you literally speak through your nose. When speaking nasal sounds, the airflow comes out of your nose. You can practice nasal pronunciation by placing your tongue against your lower front teeth and trying to pronounce the letters this way. If you do this exercise frequently and then pronounce French words with nasal vowels, you will soon master the pronunciation of French nasal vowels.
French Vowels and Accents Explained
In French, vowels are written either with or without an accent. Depending on whether the vowel has an accent, the pronunciation changes to a greater or lesser degree. There are several things to consider, especially when pronouncing French vowels with accents. Understanding the differences between vowels with and without accents is particularly important for beginners in French.
French Vowels without Accent
In principle, the pronunciation of French vowels without an accent is very similar to the pronunciation of German vowels. This is especially true for the vowels a, i, and o. The vowels e and u are pronounced somewhat differently. In French, e is pronounced more like the German ö, and u is pronounced like the German ü.
Below you will find an overview of the pronunciation of French vowels without an accent. As always, next to the explanation are some French example words with which you can directly test the pronunciation:
| Vowel without Accent | French Example Words |
| a | l' a nimal, l' a rbre, all magne, a vec, a cheter |
| e | l'e mploi , e ncore , ensuite , entasser , enrichir |
| i | i ci, i dée, i déal, i cône, i ignorer, i dentifier |
| o | o ublier, o céan, o béir, o range, o ffrir |
| u | u tilisir, u nique, u sité, u ltime, u ne |
French Vowels with an Accent
In French, we distinguish four types of accented vowels. These are the acute accent, the grave accent, the circumflex accent, and the tremulous accent. Each of these three types of accented vowels has specific functions in French pronunciation, which we will describe below.
The Accent Grave: (à, è, ù)
The grave accent is used to distinguish between words that sound alike. Here are two examples:
La and là: Due to the grave accent, the meaning of these homophones changes. La is the feminine article and là means there (location).
Ou and où: The grave accent changes the meaning of the French word où to the question word "Where".
| Accent Grave | Example Words |
| è | all è gre, le p è re, apr è s |
| à and ù | voil à , jusqu' à , déj à |
The Aigu Accent: (é)
The aigu accent plays a very important role in French pronunciation. When a French word ends in "e", as in words like *l'aide*, *fille*, or *chosen*, the final "e" is silent. However, the aigu accent *é* is different. In this case, the aigu accent indicates that the "é" must be pronounced. Here are a few examples of words that end with the aigu accent *é* and are therefore pronounced to the end: *café * , *clé *, * été * .
The Pronunciation of the Passé Composé
The acute accent is used in the past tense, passé composé. The passé composé is formed with the personal pronoun, the auxiliary verb *étre* or *aller*, the verb stem, and the acute accent *é*. Here are a few examples to illustrate this: *Je suis passé*, *J'ai apporté*, *J'ai parlé*. Here is a clear summary of how to form the passé composé:
Personal pronoun + étre or aller + verb stem with è
As you can see in the overview of the formation of the French past tense Passé Composé, the accent aigu is used in the verb conjugation of the Passé Composé. In spoken French, the 'e' pronounced due to the accent aigu can indicate that the past tense is being spoken.
Accent Circonflexe: (ê, â, î, ô, û)
The circumflex accent has two functions, which change depending on the vowel. Below, we explain the two functions of the circumflex accent:
Distinguishing between Words
The circinflex accent allows words with the same pronunciation to be distinguished. For example, the vowel û changes the meaning of the otherwise identically pronounced words sur and sûr. While the word sur, without the circinflex accent, is a preposition and is translated as "auf" (upon/on ), the otherwise identically pronounced word with the circinflex accent (sûr) changes its meaning to the adjective "sicher" (safe /safe) .
Further examples:
mur / mûr - wall / blackberry
cru / crû - participe passé of the verb croire / participe passé of the verb croître
Change in Pronunciation
The circumflex accent on the vowel *a* changes the pronunciation. The *â* is pronounced somewhat softer compared to *a* and comes from the back of the mouth. It's similar to the pronunciation of a long *äh*. You can practice the pronunciation of the circumflex accent on *a* with the following French words: *La pâte*, *l'âge*, *les pâtes*.
If the circumflex accent is on the vowel e, the word is pronounced exactly as if it had a grave accent instead. Here are a few example words with the circumflex accent on the e: être, une crêpe, rêver, une conquête
The pronunciation of words containing the vowels î, ô and û do not change. Example words with î, ô, û: L'île, naître, l'hôte, la côte, mûr, le goût.
Special Sounds in French
French has several special sounds, each with different functions. These special sounds can be somewhat daunting, especially for beginners who are just starting to learn French. However, once you familiarize yourself with their meaning and function in French, you will quickly internalize their pronunciation.
The Special Sound ç
The special sound ç (c-cedilla) alters the pronunciation of the consonant c. Whenever the French c is combined with the vowels a or e, the ç must be used. In this case, the pronunciation of the consonant c, as in the French word la cuisine.
Here are a few example words with the special sound ç that you can use to learn your French pronunciation: la leçon, la façade, français, finançable, le garçon.
The Rare French Special Sounds ë, ï and œ
The following French special sounds, while less common than the acute accent, grave accent, and circumflex accent, are just as important for French pronunciation. You will encounter these sounds from time to time while learning French. Therefore, you should definitely understand and be able to use them, and practice their pronunciation.
The French special sounds ë and ï (accent tréma):
The French vowel sounds ë and ï cause two consecutive vowels to be pronounced separately. You can practice the pronunciation of the vowel sound ë with these example words: Noël, canoë, aiguë, contiguës. Typical example words with the vowel sound ï are: naïve, aïoli, or maïs.
The pronunciation of the accent tréma becomes particularly clear when you look at the two French words *mais* (but) and *le maïs* (the corn). While in the word *mais* (but) the vowel combination *a* and *i* are pronounced together, in the word *mavs* (corn) there is a clear separation in the pronunciation of the vowel combination *a* and *i*. Another function that the accent tréma fulfills in this example is to distinguish between words that are otherwise spelled the same.
The French special sound œ:
The French special sound œ combines two vowels, which are then pronounced together. Here are a few example words with the special sound œ: Sœur, bœuf, uf, vœu, nœud, œil.
Pronunciation of Vowel Combinations
Many French words frequently contain vowel combinations that lead to a more or less significant change in pronunciation. Below, we show you the most common vowel combinations in the French language and how you should pronounce them.
| Vowel Combination | Pronunciation | Example Words |
| au/eau | embellished o | l' eau , Bord eau x, le gât eau |
| eu | short ö | le b eu rre, adi eu , le mili eu |
| œu | short ö | b œu f, le ch œu r, éc œu rer |
| AI | short ä | fr ai s, la l ai t, ai mer |
| oi | bound oa | le p oi sson, bes oi n, l oi n |
| ui/oui | bound ui | la fui te , la pl ui e, la cui sse , jo ou ir |
With a little practice, French pronunciation isn't that difficult at all!
As you can see, correct pronunciation depends primarily on practicing nasal vowels, internalizing the most common vowel combinations, and memorizing the most important pronunciation rules for consonants. If you consider and understand all of this, you will soon have very good French pronunciation. Don't forget that good pronunciation not only helps you communicate better in French but also helps you understand native French speakers better.
You can practice your French pronunciation by saying French words aloud and comparing your pronunciation to that of native French speakers.
The best way to start is by reading French stories aloud to yourself. You don't even need to be in a classroom; you can simply read articles and books in French to yourself. If learning alone is too boring for you, it's worth taking an online French language course or even going on a French language trip to experience the French language, culture, and, above all, the very friendly native French speakers.
