Learn the pronunciation of French vowels
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to The Ultimate French Pronunciation Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn 7 French vowels. |
| i, y, u, e, ø, o, ə |
| Some vowels may be hard for you to distinguish, especially for English speakers, so make sure you listen carefully! |
| Are you ready? |
| Then let's get started! |
| The first vowel is... |
| i |
| y (here/there/at) |
| fini (finished) |
| si (yes) |
| It's identical to the double E sound in the word 'see'. |
| i, i (slowly) |
| i, i (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| y |
| chute (fall) |
| rue (street) |
| tu (you [informal]) |
| This is identical to the previous sound except that the lips are rounded. |
| Try saying the 'ee' in 'see' while rounding your lips. |
| (pause) |
| Now listen to Mailys. |
| y, y (slowly) |
| y, y (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| u |
| coup (knock/blow/shot) |
| clown (clown) |
| roue (wheel) |
| It's identical to the double OO sound in the word 'boot'. |
| u, u (slowly) |
| u, u (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| e |
| marcher (to walk) |
| chez (at [somebody's home]) |
| pied (foot) |
| This is similar to the A sound in the word 'play', however, try not to carry over the Y sound too much. Try to relax your jaw, and say it as if your allowing the vowel to spill out from your mouth. Listen to Mailys. |
| e, e (slowly) |
| e, e (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| ø |
| jeûner (to fast/abstain from eating) |
| queue (tail) |
| ceux (those) |
| This is identical to the previous sound, except that the lips are rounded. |
| ø, ø (slowly) |
| ø, ø (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| o |
| haut (top/high/tall) |
| tôt (early) |
| sot (stupid) |
| This is quite similiar to two previous sounds, except that it's pronounced at the back of the mouth. |
| It's a little bit like the O sound in the word 'owe', but try not to carry over the W sound too much. |
| Listen to Mailys. |
| o, o (slowly) |
| o, o (slowly) |
| And the last vowel is... |
| ə |
| le (the [singular]) |
| monsieur (sir) |
| ce (this) |
| It's identical to the E sound at the end of the word 'problem'. |
| ə, ə (slowly) |
| ə, ə (slowly) |
| Well done! You've just learned 7 vowel sounds in French! |
| i, y, u, e, ø, o, ə |
| In the next lesson, you'll learn the remaining 9 French vowel sounds. |
| Which vowel sound was the most difficult for you to learn? Please comment and share your thoughts. |
| See you in the next Ultimate French Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
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