All the basics
How French sounds, read 4 of 15, 3 min
Consonants that catch people out
Les consonnes
Most consonants work as in English. These are the ones that don't, starting with the famous r.
The French r
It's made at the back of the throat, close to a soft gargle or the sound of clearing your throat very gently. Keep the tip of your tongue down behind your lower teeth. Don't roll it, and don't use the English r.
- rougered
- Paristhe final s is silentParis
- mercithank you
- trèsvery
Special spellings
French ch is the English sh, and j is the s in "measure". The letter h is always silent.
- chatch = shcat
- jej = the s in "measure"I
- montagnegn = ny, as in "canyon"mountain
- quatrequ = k, with no w soundfour
- filleille = ee-y, but ville and mille say "eel"girl, daughter
- hommeh is silentman
- théth = ttea
Letters that change with the next vowel
c and g are soft before e, i or y, and hard otherwise. ç keeps c soft before a, o or u. A single s between vowels sounds like z, and a double s stays s.
- cecic before e, i = sthis
- caféc before a, o, u = kcoffee
- garçonç = s, and g before a = hard gboy
- mangerg before e, i = the s in "measure"to eat
- poissonss = sfish
- poisons between vowels = zpoison
The English sound guides are only rough. When they disagree with the voice, go with the voice.