1.13: Structure - Ça se prononce comment ?

Objectifs 

In this section, you will learn how to:

• Pronounce consonants and vowels
• Identify silent letters

Media Alternative

Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.

On étudie !

La prononciation des consonnes et des voyelles

Les consonnes

Most consonants are pronounced similarly in English and France, but not exactly the same. Two things that are significantly different in french and often challenging for English speakers are (1) silent consonants that we write but don't pronounce (see below) and (2) the pronunciation of the letter r. Here are the consonants that are most different from English:

Les consonnes

Consonnes	Prononciation	Exemples
r	How to pronounce r	Lorsque j'arrive à la gare
ç	Pronounce it like s in English	Ça, leçon
h	silent	hôpital, halles, haine

Note

The ideal gas law is easy to remember and apply in solving problems, as long as you get the proper values a

There are many subtle differences between the way we pronounce consonants in English and French. To explore these, you can watch this tutorial on the pronunciation of consonants. Later, you will learn how to pronounce clusters of consonants, such as ss, th, qu, etc.

Les voyelles

Vowels are usually more challenging for French learners. Written vowels are the same in French and English: a, e, i, o, u. However, in spoken French there are at leaast 15 different vowel sounds. Here are the vowel sounds you will need to practice:

Les voyelles

Voyelles	Prononciation	Exemples
i	like "ee" in see	fini, lit, difficile
u	How to pronounce u	Tu, chute, rue
é	How to pronounce é	Pied, chez, marcher, clé
è, ê	How to pronounce è & ê	Mère, fête
e	How to pronounce e	Le, ce, de
eu	How to pronounce eu	Peu, queue, peur, jeuner
o	How to pronounce o	Sot, tôt, dos
on	How to pronounce on	Son, ton, Breton
ou	like "oo" in zoo	Coupe, fou, poubelle
oi	How to pronounce oi	Moi, toi, froid, boîte
oin	How to pronounce oin	Coin, besoin, soin
œ	How to pronounce œ	Sœur, cœur, œuf
au, eau	How to pronounce au, eau	Beau, faux
en, an, em, am	How to pronounce en, an, em, am	An, bilan, silence,
in, ain, un	How to pronounce in, ain, un	Pain, lapin, sain, fin, un

Ressources supplémentaires

• Practice pronouncing French vowels with this video tutorial on Vowel sounds in French.
• Practice pronouncing different combinations of vowels with this video: vowel sounds in combination.

Les lettres muettes (Silent letters)

Both consonants and vowels may be silent (unpronounced) in French. Here are some examples (silent letters in boldface):

hôpital, haleine parler, Didier français lent, dansent appétit, tout faux quand

The letter H is always silent, but other letters are only silent in certain situations. Most final consonants are not pronounced in French. For example:

Sometimes, clusters of vowels ae silent, such as:

C'est donnent étudiants

An unaccented -e (or -es) at the end of a word is usually silent:

française plage rêves nuages

The consonants -c, -r, -f, and -l are usually pronounced at the end of a words:

parc bonjour actif animal

Here is a useful summary of silent letters:

Le H muet

La lettre h est toujours muette :

Lettre	Exemples
-h-	habitude, homme, hôpital, orthographe, haut

Lettre muettes en fin de mot

The following letters are generally silent at the end of a word.

Lettres muettes en fin de mot

Lettre	Exemples	Prononcé quand il est suivi par -e
-d	canard , quand	fade, stade
-p	trop	clope
-s	tas, draps	phase
-t	chocolat, appétit	petite
-x	prix	—
-z	nez	—
-e	jeune, fille, danse, père.

Note

• When these letters are followed by the plural -s, they remain silent: draps, petits, grands, filles etc.
• The letters d, p, s, t, x and z may be pronounced whenever there is a liaison.

Lettre muettes en fin de mot sous certaines conditions (The CRFL rule)

According to the CRFL (i.e., “carfeul") rule, if a word ends with a c, r, f, or l, you are going to pronounce them. However, under certain conditions these consonants will be silent:

Consonnes muettes sous certaines conditions

Consonnes	Conditions et exemples	Exceptions et cas spéciaux
-c	précédé par “n” : franc, banc, tronc	mots particuliers : estomac, porc, tabac, clerc
-r	(a) infinitifs (-er) : parler, aimer, danser (b) substantifs et adjectifs : escalier, premier	Exception : r prononcé : amour, hiver, amer, cancer, enfer, cuiller, fleur Cas spécial : r muet : monsieur
-f	mots particuliers : nerf, clef, cerf, serf	Cas spécial : f muet dans le pluriel : des oeufs
-l	(a) mots de plus d’une syllabe : fusil, gentil, outil (b) mots particuliers : soûl, cul

Learning how to pronounce correctly takes time and practice. Above all, you need to listen to as much French as possible.

Ressources supplémentaires

• Watch this video for a general introduction to French Pronunciation.
• Watch this tutorial on Silent letters, then answer this question: What are the CRFL and Big Good Quality Kale rules?
• You can practice your French pronunciation with this Video tutorial: Pronounce the 100 most common French words. Try to repeat everything you hear (practice makes perfect).
• You can listen to how specific words are pronounced by visiting the How to Pronounce channel on YouTube.
• You can hear audio recordings of French words and more at: audiofrench.com. If you want to go all out, consult the French Pronunciation: Ultimate Guide.
• Have fun practicing your pronunciation with these tongue-twisters, or virelangues. Also try les virelangues.
• Practice French pronunciation with this video of illustrated French sounds.

On pratique !

Activité 

Ecoutez et identifiez si les lettres prononcées sont des voyelles ou des consonnes.

1. Voyelle ou consonne  ? 
2. Voyelle ou consonne  ? 
3. Voyelle ou consonne  ? 
4. Voyelle ou consonne  ? 
5. Voyelle ou consonne  ? 
6. Voyelle ou consonne  ? 
7. Voyelle ou consonne  ? 
8. Voyelle ou consonne  ? 
9. Voyelle ou consonne  ? 
10. Voyelle ou consonne  ?