How does pronunciation work in French?

The key to master French pronunciation is to know which final consonants to pronounce or mute, to learn and differentiate diphthongs from vowels, and to do the right liaisons. There is much more to pronunciation, though, so keep reading!

Have you been saying or hearing (transcribed bon apayteet) for Bon appétit?! Let’s get this straight: final consonants in French are not pronounced! Well… at least 99 percent of the time! So before eating, (transcribed bo(n) apaytee) is the right thing to say!

French pronunciation is just like French grammar: it’s fascinating and full of exceptions! But rest assured, after reading this article you’ll be able to speak French with confidence.

Here is the plan of action: first, you’ll discover tips about so-called tricky letters, then we’ll get into the use of French accents, essential rules for liaisons, the standard and southern accents, and last but not least, French rhythm!

First tip before we start: make sure you can read this out loud, it’ll help!

Tricky letters, like the vowel sounds "u," "ou," and "e," as well as the consonants "m," "c," "g," and "s," are part of what can make French pronunciation challenging for English speakers. An important element of French pronunciation is that the orthography (spelling) of words does not always match the pronunciation of those words. This means that, sometimes, a single written letter (like "e") can have multiple pronunciations. So, “written letters” (the letters used to represent a sound in writing) are not always the best guide for the actual sound that should be produced. In this section, we’ll review some of these confusing letters and their various sounds!

Just a heads up: I could write for hours about French pronunciation. However, I have only selected the most important rules you need to know to be understood, avoid confusion, and help you sound native.

I have also assumed you already know basic facts, like that not all letters are pronounced in French:

Are you wondering why? We’ll talk about this a bit later! Or, take a look at this handy explanation for how French letters are written versus how they are pronounced!

In French, nasal sounds include at least one vowel, and they are triggered by the written letters "n" and "m." Nasals are sounds that occur when a sound is produced through both the nose and mouth.

In French, unlike in English, nasal consonants like "n" and "m" often become “lost within” a vowel called a nasal vowel. The vowel goes through your nose, but the consonant itself is not completely pronounced. Grammarians call this “assimilation” because one sound becomes more similar to the other!

This “nasal assimilation” happens in two cases:

• when vowel + "n" / "m" ends a word

• when vowel + "n" / "m" is followed by another consonant

For example:

However, there are other cases when the "n" and "m" are clearly pronounced as actual consonants (just like in English). This happens:

• when vowel + "n" / "m" is followed by another vowel in the same word

• when the nasal consonant ("n" / "m") is doubled

Take a look at these tricky pairs:

• lundi

  Transcription: lu(n)dee

  Translation: Monday

  vs.

  lune

  Transcription: lun

  Translation: moon
• bon

  Transcription: bo(n)

  Translation: good, m.

  vs.

  bonne

  Transcription: bon

  Translation: good, f.

Let’s now focus on consonant sounds.

To put it in a nutshell, we usually say final consonants should not be pronounced in French, but there is a little more to this. Although most final consonants are mute, there are several words that are exceptions to these mute final consonants, as well as several final consonant sounds which will almost always be pronounced. Let’s get into it!

Liaisons create harmony in French by linking sounds through connecting a final mute consonant of a word with the first letter of the following word. Liaison only takes place when the first letter of the second word is a vowel or a mute "h." By following a couple of essential rules, you can improve your French.

Here are some of the most important rules for liaisons in French:

Remember, in the rules above, the pronouns, determiners, and adjectives must end in a mute final consonant and be followed by a verb/noun/pronoun/etc. that begins with a vowel or mute "h" for a liaison to be necessary! If you feel confident with the rules above, check here to make sure you know the other important rules.

Earlier I noted that liaisons are formed between final mute consonants and a following word beginning with a vowel or a mute "h." Conversely, no liaison is allowed between mute final consonants and words beginning with an aspirated "h." What does this mean? Let’s have a look at words starting with "h."

French pronunciation generally does not assign stress to any one syllable in a word, which lends a quite monotonous melody and rhythm to the language. Let me show you what French and English would look like if we could see them:

Ok… I’m slightly exaggerating, but it gives you an idea of what your rhythm should “look like” when speaking French. A tool that will help your French rhythm is an understanding of phonetic syllables.

So, how do phonetic syllables affect melody?

French can sound a bit flat, since we don’t have stressed syllables. The only thing you need to remember, when it comes to melody, is to slightly lengthen the last phonetic syllable of a word, group of words, or sentence. Take a look (the underlined syllables are stressed):

Another way you can use your knowledge of phonetic syllables to help with your pronunciation and melody is to skip the pronunciation of an "e" before the last phonetic syllable in a word:

However, when the "e" is preceded by two audible consonants, this rule does not apply:

Because French does not assign stress to specific syllables or words, adding stress where it does not naturally appear is a good way to emphasize a word or syllable to make a point. Here are a few ways that French speakers emphasize something to draw attention to it:

• Use stressed pronouns

  When in English, you can say, “YOU mentioned it,” in French, it would sound weird to say, TU en as parlé. We’d use stressed pronouns instead:

  C’est toi qui en as parlé.

  Translation: YOU mentioned it.

  Literally: lit. (lit.) It is you who talked about it.

• Pausing between syllables (jerky rhythm)

  When we describe something and want to emphasize a particular aspect, we generally pause between syllables of the key word of a sentence (usually, adjectives). This way, the feelings and meanings conveyed by this word are doubled – or more if we add facial expression! The equivalent in English would be to lengthen a syllable that is supposed to be stressed.

  C’est gé-nial !

  Translation: It’s amaaaazing.

  C’est a-ffreux !

  Translation: It’s hoooooorrible.

• Place stress on the first syllable

  Alternatively, we could also stress and lengthen the first syllable of a word.

  C’était vraiment MAgnifique !

  Translation: It was truly woooonnnderful!

  We could also choose to stress the adverb:

  C’était VRAIment magnifique !

  Translation: It was truuuuly wonderful!

L’enchaînement (meaning linking) is the process of linking vowels together or linking vowels and consonants within words and between words in a sentence. It is l’enchaînement which makes it difficult to discern when each word starts and stops.

There are also some common pronunciation patterns in French that are more informal and used when speaking, especially when speaking quickly. For example, many speakers cut out the e in the middle of words and rhythmic groups. These groups are combinations of grammatical units. A couple of famous cases are j’suis (meaning I am) and j’sais pas (meaning I don’t know), which can also be spelled chui and chais pas!

Did you notice above that the subject pronoun je became j’? Yes, that’s right! Subject pronouns can be even shorter than they already are! However, keep in mind it is quite informal. Check the table below to see how this works.

When trying to improve your pronunciation in French, keep the tips we’ve shared in this article in mind!

• Generally, don’t pronounce final consonants and learn the common exceptions.

• Final "e" is not pronounced, even followed by an "s."

• The plural form of verbs -ent is mute.

• Remember to form a liaison when the first word ends in a mute final consonant and the following word begins with a vowel or h muet

  • Remember at least the two most common liaisons: subject pronoun + verb and article + verb

• When speaking, lengthen (don’t pronounce louder) the last phonetic syllable.

• Make your speech vibrant by insisting on specific words by pausing between each syllable or lengthening the first one.

• Link words without pausing after and before. Picture sentences like a long yarn.

I hope all these tips will help you speak French with confidence! If you feel like a challenge, have a look at the trickiest French words to pronounce! And before you venture out and speak French to someone, why not practice your French pronunciation with our exercises first?