Notice French sound patterns
Notice three sound patterns without treating French spelling as a perfect pronunciation guide.
Separate u from ou
French u and ou represent different vowels. For ou, round your lips as in an English “oo” sound. To explore French u, start with the tongue position for “ee” and round your lips without deliberately moving the tongue backwards. This is a starting exercise rather than an exact English equivalent. If browser speech is available, alternate tu and tout slowly. Playback is synthetic speech, not a tutor recording or a pronunciation assessment.
Notice nasal vowels and quiet endings
In words such as bon and pain, the vowel is nasal: air also passes through the nose, and the written n is not a separate full consonant. Compare bon with bonne, where you do hear an n consonant. A written vowel plus n or m does not always make a nasal vowel. Many final consonants are silent, as in petit, but not all: the final consonant of avec is pronounced. Learn the sound with each word.
Link selected words, not every final consonant
A liaison makes a usually silent final consonant audible before certain vowel sounds in connected speech. In les amis, the s links with a z sound; in vous avez, the s also links with a z sound. This does not mean every written consonant should be linked. There is no liaison after et: et elle keeps its t silent. Some other liaisons vary with grammar and register. Learn these common groups first, and do not guess a universal rule.
Your turn.
Choose an answer, then check why it works. You can try again.
Make it yours.
For three minutes, read tu / tout and bon / bonne slowly, then read each example once. If browser speech is available, compare its model with your attempt; otherwise keep the exercise as reading practice. Repeat les amis and et elle, deliberately avoiding a t sound after et. These notes cannot assess your accent.
Self-practice · kept in this tab. A teacher can give personal feedback.
Audio is your device’s French speech voice. Read the examples aloud too; pronunciation feedback requires a teacher.