How to read and say French

French spelling is not very phonetic. The same letter used in two different words can make two different sounds, and many letters are not pronounced at all. The good news, though, is that French generally has more regular pronunciation rules than English. This means that with sufficient practice, one can generally pronounce written French fairly accurately. However, the large number of homophones and silent letters make it such that attempting to write down spoken French often results in spelling mistakes, even for native speakers. Some rules are as follows:

• Stress is fairly even in French, but the stress almost always falls on the last syllable. In words where the stress falls on an earlier syllable, it's not uncommon to hear the last syllable or sound of some words cut off or "swallowed." For example, Possible can sound like poss-EEB and hymne can sound like eem. This is particularly noticeable in Quebec, but exists in other accents too.
• The final consonant of a word is usually silent except for c, f, l, q, and r. Thus, allez (go) is pronounced al-AY, not al-AYZ; tard (late) is pronounced tar, not tard.
• If the next word begins with a vowel, a consonant may be pronounced; this is called liaison. For example, allez-y (≈ go ahead / off you go), is pronounced al-ay-ZEE, while mes amis (my friends) is pronounced MEZ-ah-MEE .
• A final e is also usually silent if the word has more than one syllable, except in parts of southern France and when singing or reciting poetry.

Guess what? Those pronunciation "rules" you just read have a ton of exceptions! For example, the rule that a final r is pronounced is not true in the combination "-er", normally found in verb infinitives; this letter combination is pronounced ay. The plural ending "-ent" for verbs is silent (except for the t, in cases of liaison), even though it is pronounced when it appears in other words. Sometimes, whether to pronounce the final consonant of a word is denoted by its grammatical function; for example, the final "s" in tous (all) is silent when used as an adjective, but pronounced when used as a pronoun, while the final "f" in nouns such as cerf (deer) and œuf (egg) is pronounced in the singular form, but in the plural form (cerfs, œufs) the "f" and the "s" are both silent.

A final warning: for many French words, it is impossible to write something which an English speaker can easily read and reproduce without compromising on the French pronunciation. This means that the pronunciation guides in this very phrasebook are open to interpretation! Use the transliteration provided with each phrase as a guide to liaison, but refer to the following letter lists in order to correctly pronounce the vowels and consonants.

Vowels

Vowels in French can have accent marks, which generally have no noticeable impact on pronunciation, but they often distinguish between homophones in writing (ou, meaning "or", and où, meaning "where", are pronounced the same). The only really important ones which affect pronunciation are é, è, and ê, which are called e accent aigu, e accent grave, and e accent circonflexe, respectively. The grave and circumflex accents have the same name when they appear on other letters, while the umlaut (ë, ï, ü) is called e/i/u tréma.

a, à, â

like father (U.S. English) or cat (UK English); (IPA: a). In Quebec French, sometimes more like "aw" as in the standard UK pronunciation of not (IPA: ɔ)

e

in most cases a central neutral vowel ("schwa") like in about (IPA: ə), sometimes like "é" or "è". At the end of a word, it's usually not pronounced at all

é, ai, -er, -es, -ez, -et

similar to day but shorter (IPA: e)

è, ê

more open, like set (IPA: ɛ). Sometimes diphthongised in Quebec French (IPA: ɛɪ̯)

i, î

like see, but shorter and tenser (IPA: i)

o, ô, au, eau

generally like boat (IPA: o)

u, ù

like a very tight, frontal "oo" sound (purse your lips as if to say "oo" as in "soon" but try to make your tongue say "ee") - (IPA: y), uu in transcriptions, similar to the German ü. Sometimes pronounced more like "eu" in Quebec French

ou

like food, but rounder (IPA: u)

y

when followed by a consonant, like see (IPA: i). When followed by another vowel, it's used as a consonant, pronounced yes (IPA: j)

eu

between dew and burp (IPA: ø); written as eu in transcriptions

Semi-vowels

oi

like wham (IPA: wa), or when followed by a nasal more like wet (IPA: wɛ̃). In Quebec French, sometimes like thought (IPA: ɔ)

oui

like week (IPA: wi)

ui

like week, but with a French u instead of the w (IPA: ɥi)

œ

a bit like eu, but more open (IPA: œ). The distinction between œ (called o e entrelacés) and eu is very subtle and often irrelevant.

Consonants

b

like boy (IPA: b)

c

like scam (before "a", "o", and "u" or before a consonant; IPA: k), like peace but pronounced with the tongue touching the teeth (before "e", "i", and "y"; IPA: s̪)

ç

like the second pronunciation of c. This letter, called a "cedilla" (cédille), can only be written before "a", "o", or "u"

ch

like ship (IPA: ʃ); sometimes like k (in words of Greek origin mostly)

d

like do but pronounced with the tongue touching the teeth (IPA: d̪). In Quebec, like "dz" or "ds" when before "i" or "y"

dj

like jump (IPA: d͡ʒ)

f

like fin (IPA: f)

g

like go (before "a", "o", and "u" or before a consonant; IPA: ɡ), like sabotage (before "e", "i" and "y"; IPA: ʒ)

gu

like the first pronunciation of g (before "e", "i", "y"); if the u is to be pronounced, it will be written with a diaresis (e.g. aigüe)

gn

somewhat like canyon (IPA: ɲ). This is particularly difficult when followed by oi, as in baignoire (beh-NYWAR) "bathtub".

h

silent, but may sometimes prevent a liaison with the former word (this is called an h aspiré)

j

like the second pronunciation of g

k

like skit (only used for loanwords, but common in Alsatian and Breton placenames; IPA: k)

l, ll

light L (higher-pitched, non-dental), like British light (IPA: l); some exceptions for "ll" in the combination "ille" (sometimes pronounced ee-yuh, IPA: j), or in "guillotine".

m

like milk (IPA: m)

n

pronounced with the tongue touching the teeth (IPA: n̪), except when followed by a vowel, when it is pronounced like nose (IPA: n). See Nasals below}}

p

like spin (IPA: p)

ph

like f

pn

like apnea (IPA: pn)

ps

like slips (IPA: ps)

q(u)

most of the time k, like quick only in loanwords

r

guttural r, pronounced at the back of the throat (IPA: ʁ)

s

usually like the second pronunciation of c; like z when between two vowels (unless doubled), or in a liaison

t, th

like still but pronounced with the tongue touching the teeth (IPA: t̪); in Quebec, like cats (IPA: t͡s) when before "i" or "y"; like the second pronunciation of c in tion

tch

like teach (IPA: t͡ʃ)

v

like very (IPA: v)

w

only in foreign words, mostly like will (IPA: w) and sometimes like v (in particular, "wagon" is "vagon" and "WC" is "VC"!)

x

either ks, gz or s

z

like zoo but pronounced with the tongue touching the teeth (IPA: z̪)

Nasals

an, en, em

nasal a (IPA: ɑ̃). Not always pronounced as a nasal, especially if the n or m is doubled: Emmanuel is pronounced as a normal "emm" sound

on

nasal o (IPA: ɔ̃) - distinguishing between this and "an" is tricky, it's a deeper, more closed sound

in, ain

nasal è (IPA: ɛ̃)

un

nasal eu (IPA: œ̃). In northern France and particularly around Paris, pronounced the same as 'in' (IPA: ɛ̃)

oin

nasal "wè" (IPA: wɛ̃)

Diphthongs

aï, ail

like the English pronoun I (IPA: aj)

ay, éi

é and i smooshed together (IPA: ɛ.i)

ill

either literally, or like "y" in "three years", with some exceptions (ville is veel, fille is fiy)

Quebec French sometimes has vestigial diphthongs where French from France no longer does. For example, while a Parisian would pronounce the word maître as MET-ruh, a Québécois would pronounce it more like MIGHT-ruh.

Exceptions

• When there is an accent mark on "e", it prevents diphthongs. Letters should be pronounced separately, following the rule for the accented letter. Example: réunion (meeting).
• A diaeresis (tréma) may also be used to prevent diphthongs on "e", "u" and "i". Example: maïs (Indian corn or maize).
• In the combination "geo" (as in pigeon or bourgeois), the "e" should not be pronounced, as it is only there to force the pronunciation of the soft "g" (IPA: ʒ). When the e is marked with an acute accent (as in géologie) it is pronounced the normal way.