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How to pronounce vowels in French?
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Do you know how to pronounce vowels in French?
If you are here is that you want to learn and improve your French, well done!
That’s a great idea 😀
Let a comment at the end of the article to tell me what you think about it:
- Do you like it?
- Does it help you?
- Do you have any questions?
- Do you want to learn more about French pronounciation?
Here are vowels in French!
The sound [a]
Paris - Paris
Papa - Father/Dad
Des pâtes - Pasta
Voilà - That’s it/Here you go/Here it is
The accent does not change the sound of the vowel a
The accent has no influence on the sound of the vowel a
The sound [e]
For this sound we add the accent aigu on the vowel é
Le blé - The wheat
Le matériel - The material
Le cinéma - The cinema
All the letters ER are pronounced [e]
Marcher - To walk
Sauter - To jump
Parler - To speak/talk
The sound [ɛ]
For this sound we add the accent grave on the vowel è
Merci – Thank you
Pay attention to the fact there is no accent grave on the vowel of the word Merci
Mère - Mother
Zèbre - Zebra
1 mètre - One meter
The vowel e with an accent circonflexe ê can be pronounced è [ɛ] or é [e]
- Here are words whose pronunciation is [ɛ], which is the vast majority:
Un ancêtre - An ancestor
Une bête - A beast / An animal
Une crêpe - French pancake
Une enquête - A survey/An investigation
Extrême - extreme
- Here are words whose pronunciation is [e], which is the minority:
Empêcher - To prevent
Je suis gêné - I am embarrassed
Mêler - To mix
The sound [ø] = le son e fermé
Je - I
Deux - Two
Peu - Few
Un vœu - A wish
Monsieur - Msiter/sir
The sound [œ] = le son e ouvert
La peur - Fear
Un œuf - An egg
Un meuble - A furniture
Un cœur - A heart
The sound [i]
Un(e) ami(e) - Friend
Un cygne - A swan
Joli(e) - beautiful
The sound [o] = le son o fermé
Gauche - Left
Rose - Pink
Sauter - To jump
Eau - Water
The sound [ɔ] = le son o ouvert
Une pomme - An apple
Un corps - A body
Un homme - A man
The sound [y]
Un mur - A wall
Il est connu - He is famous
Un jus - A juice
The sound [u]
Un genou - A knee
Une roue - A wheel
Une soupe - A soup
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Did you manage to pronounce those words properly?
Thomas, your French teacher 😀
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How to pronounce French words?
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Thomas Ricomard specializes in teaching French as a foreign language. He has been providing private lessons since 2015, both in-person and online (via Skype). He taught at the Popular University of the Canton of Geneva (Switzerland) from 2015 to 2018, instructing several groups of 20 students from around the world (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mexico, etc.), ranging from beginner to intermediate levels (A1 to B2). With a Master’s degree in clinical and cognitive psychology from the University of Geneva, his knowledge of psychology allows him to tailor his teaching methods for optimal learning, taking into account factors such as visual memory versus auditory memory. He expresses his passion for the French language through writing texts, including poetry and songs, which he presents publicly at numerous music and slam events.