48 Sounds of French Pronunciation378

French is a beautiful and expressive language, but its pronunciation can be tricky for native English speakers. There are many sounds in French that do not exist in English, and some sounds that are pronounced differently. In this article, we will take a look at all 48 sounds of French pronunciation, with examples and exercises to help you practice.

Vowels

There are 16 vowel sounds in French. They are:
/a/ as in "chat"
/ɑ/ as in "pâte"
/ε/ as in "deux"
/ɛ/ as in "père"
/e/ as in "nez"
/ǝ/ as in "le"
/i/ as in "fini"
/o/ as in "port"
/ɔ/ as in "chose"
/u/ as in "sou"
/y/ as in "tu"
/œ/ as in "œuf"
/ɑ̃/ as in "an"
/ɛ̃/ as in "in"
/ɔ̃/ as in "on"
/œ̃/ as in "un"

The nasal vowels (/ɑ̃/, /ɛ̃/, /ɔ̃/, and /œ̃/) are produced by directing the airflow through the nose. The other vowels are produced by directing the airflow through the mouth.

Consonants

There are 32 consonant sounds in French. They are:
/p/ as in "pain"
/b/ as in "bras"
/t/ as in "table"
/d/ as in "deux"
/k/ as in "chat"
/g/ as in "gare"
/f/ as in "fin"
/v/ as in "ville"
/s/ as in "sept"
/z/ as in "dix"
/ʃ/ as in "chat"
/ʒ/ as in "jour"
/m/ as in "mère"
/n/ as in "nez"
/ɲ/ as in "gnocchi"
/ŋ/ as in "bang"
/l/ as in "lire"
/r/ as in "rose"
/j/ as in "yeux"
/w/ as in "oui"
/h/ as in "huit"
/tʃ/ as in "chat"
/dʒ/ as in "jus"
/ks/ as in "taxi"
/gz/ as in "examen"
/ts/ as in "tsunami"
/dz/ as in "adze"
/ɲs/ as in "occasion"
/ŋg/ as in "parking"
/lr/ as in "lire"

The consonants /ɲ/, /ŋ/, and /lr/ are all pronounced with the tongue against the roof of the mouth.

Pronunciation Exercises

Now that you have learned all of the French sounds, let's practice pronouncing them. Here are a few exercises to get you started:
Read the following words aloud, paying attention to the pronunciation of the vowels:

Chat
Pâte
Deux
Père
Nez
Le
Fini
Port
Chose
Sou
Tu
Œuf
An
In
On
Un

Read the following words aloud, paying attention to the pronunciation of the consonants:

Pain
Bras
Table
Deux
Chat
Gare
Fin
Ville
Sept
Dix
Chat
Jour
Mère
Nez
Gnocchi
Bang
Lire
Rose
Yeux
Oui
Huit
Chat
Jus
Taxi
Examen
Tsunami
Adze
Occasion
Parking
Lire

Read the following sentences aloud, paying attention to the pronunciation of all the sounds:

Je suis français.
Il parle français.
Elle est française.
Nous sommes français.
Vous êtes français.
Ils sont français.