How to pronounce French letters and letter strings:
Most letters sound the same in French as they do in English, but others are quite different. The
following guidelines may help you but soundfiles are available on the Internet.
French
How to pronounce it
a
like the a in hat
like the oa in toast
like the c in cat
like the s in sun
like the s in sun
like the sh in ship
like the e sound in ‘erm...’
like the ay in Monday
like the e sound in red
like the g in goat
like the s sound in pleasure
like the n sound in new
is usually silent
like the i in machine
a nasal sound that rhymes with pan
a nasal sound that rhymes with Tom
like the s sound in pleasure
like the y in yellow
like the o in hot
like the u in fur
like the ‘wa’ sound in whack
like the oo in zoo
like the k in kite
is rolled, try practising in the mirror
when cleaning your teeth
like the t in top
put finger in mouth, remove finger but
keep lips pursed and try to say ‘eee’
like the wee in week
like the v in vase
are usually silent, for example
canard, mois, petit, sport, blanc
au
eau
c
c before e or i
ç
ch
e eu
é er ez
è ê
g
g before e or i
gn
h
i
y
-in -im
-an -am -on -om
j
ill
o
œu
oi
ou
qu
r
th
u
ui
uy
w
consonants at the end of a word