Learn about the pronunciation of French vowels
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to The Ultimate French Pronunciation Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn the remaining 9 French vowels. |
| ɛ, ɛ̃, œ, œ̃, ɔ, ɔ̃, a, ɑ, ɑ̃ |
| 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... |
| ɛ |
| faite (done [feminine]) |
| peine (penalty) |
| est (east) |
| It's identical to the E sound in the word 'red'. |
| ɛ, ɛ (slowly) |
| ɛ, ɛ (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| ɛ̃ |
| impair (odd) |
| pain (bread) |
| daim (deer) |
| This is identical to the previous sound, except with nasality. |
| When you pronounce vowels normally, the sound is made by expelling air through the mouth. But with nasal vowels, you expel air through the mouth AND the nose. Try to pronounce the sound without obstruction from the lips, tongue, or throat. The idea is to direct the passage of air into the cavity that exists behind that small, fleshy part that hangs down from the roof of your mouth. |
| Try to pronounce the E in the word 'red' while pronouncing it through your nose. |
| ɛ̃, ɛ̃ (slowly) |
| ɛ̃, ɛ̃ (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| œ |
| sœur (sister) |
| jeune (young) |
| peur (fear) |
| This is identical to the two previous sounds, except that the lips are rounded and there is no nasality. |
| Try saying the word E sound in 'red' while rounding your lips. |
| (pause) |
| Now listen to the native speaker. |
| œ, œ (slowly) |
| œ, œ (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| œ̃ |
| brun (brown) |
| un (a [masculine]) |
| parfum (perfume) |
| This is identical to the previous sound, except *with* nasality. |
| Try saying the E sound in 'red' while rounding your lips and pronouncing it through your nose. |
| (pause) |
| Now listen to the native speaker |
| œ̃, œ̃ (slowly) |
| œ̃, œ̃ (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| ɔ |
| minimum (minimum) |
| sort (fate) |
| école (school) |
| It's the same as the OU sound in the word 'ought'. |
| ɔ, ɔ (slowly) |
| ɔ, ɔ (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| ɔ̃ |
| champignon (mushroom) |
| nom (name) |
| son (sound) |
| This is identical to the previous sound, except that there's nasality. |
| Try saying the OU sound in the word 'ought' while pronouncing it through your nose. |
| ɔ̃, ɔ̃ (slowly) |
| ɔ̃, ɔ̃ (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| a |
| femme (woman) |
| banane (banana) |
| patte (leg/paw/hoof) |
| It sounds very similar to the A sound in the word 'pat', though not as whiny. |
| Try moving your tongue further back into the mouth, so that it assumes a more centralized position. It should sound a little deeper as a result, and instead of a whiny sound, it now has a 'darker' quality to it. |
| The resulting vowel should sound somewhere in between the A sounds of the words 'pat' and 'bra'. |
| Listen to Mailys. |
| a, a (slowly) |
| a, a (slowly) |
| The next vowel is... |
| ɑ |
| pâte (dough) |
| glas (tolling bell) |
| hâte (haste) |
| It's identical to the A sound in the word 'father'. |
| ɑ, ɑ (slowly) |
| ɑ, ɑ (slowly) |
| And the last vowel is... |
| ɑ̃ |
| sans (without) |
| champ (field) |
| temps (weather) |
| This is identical to the previous sound, except that there's nasality. |
| Try saying the A in 'father' while pronouncing it through your nose. |
| Listen to Mailys. |
| ɑ̃, ɑ̃ (slowly) |
| ɑ̃, ɑ̃ (slowly) |
| Well done! You've just another 9 vowel sounds in French. |
| ɛ, ɛ̃, œ, œ̃, ɔ, ɔ̃, a, ɑ, ɑ̃ |
| You can now pronounce any vowel that could possibly appear in the French language! |
| Isn't that great? |
| Well that's it for vowels. |
| In the next lesson, you'll start learning consonant 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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