Nasal Vowels
Three or four vowels are made with air through the nose, and with no n sound at the end. They're signature French sounds, and confusing them changes the word.
The nasal vowels
The written n or m isn't pronounced: it only signals the nasal. Stop the sound before your tongue touches the roof of your mouth.
/ɑ̃/
Spellingsan, am, en, em
Examplesenfant, champ, temps, vent
How to make itOpen jaw, as in 'on' in British English, but stop before the n
/ɔ̃/
Spellingson, om
Examplesbon, nom, monde, ombre
How to make itTight round lips, as in 'oh' with air through the nose
/ɛ̃/
Spellingsin, im, ain, aim, ein, yn, ym, en in -ien, -éen
Examplesvin, simple, pain, faim, plein, syndicat, bien
How to make itLips spread, as in 'an' in 'sang', with no ng
/œ̃/
Spellingsun, um
Examplesun, lundi, parfum
How to make itNow merged with /ɛ̃/ for most French speakers. Still heard in the south and Belgium
- Un bon vin blanc.A good white wine.
- Mon enfant a un grand chien.My child has a big dog.
Telling them apart
Often the hardest contrast for English speakers is /ɑ̃/ against /ɔ̃/. Lips make the difference: open and relaxed for /ɑ̃/, tightly rounded for /ɔ̃/.
vent (wind)
/ɔ̃/vont (they go)
/ɛ̃/vin (wine)
sang (blood)
/ɔ̃/son (sound)
/ɛ̃/saint (saint)
temps (time)
/ɔ̃/ton (your)
/ɛ̃/teint (complexion)
lent (slow)
/ɔ̃/long (long)
/ɛ̃/lin (linen)
pan (panel)
/ɔ̃/pont (bridge)
/ɛ̃/pain (bread)
banc (bench)
/ɔ̃/bon (good)
/ɛ̃/bain (bath)
dans (in)
/ɔ̃/dont (of which)
/ɛ̃/daim (suede)
- Le vent vient du pont.The wind is coming from the bridge.
- Le vin blanc de mon oncle est bon.My uncle's white wine is good.
When it's not nasal
A vowel is nasal only if the n or m ends the syllable. It stops being nasal when followed by a vowel, or by a doubled n or m. That's why many masculine and feminine forms differ by more than an added letter.
bon /bɔ̃/
Oralbonne /bɔn/
Oral sound/ɔ/ + n
un /œ̃/
Oralune /yn/
Oral sound/y/ + n
plein /plɛ̃/
Oralpleine /plɛn/
Oral sound/ɛ/ + n
fin /fɛ̃/
Oralfine /fin/
Oral sound/i/ + n
an /ɑ̃/
Oralâne /an/
Oral sound/a/ + n
italien /italjɛ̃/
Oralitalienne /italjɛn/
Oral sound/ɛ/ + n
brun /bʁœ̃/
Oralbrune /bʁyn/
Oral sound/y/ + n
paysan /peizɑ̃/
Oralpaysanne /peizan/
Oral sound/a/ + n
américain /ameʁikɛ̃/
Oralaméricaine /ameʁikɛn/
Oral sound/ɛ/ + n
don /dɔ̃/
Oraldonner /dɔne/
Oral sound/ɔ/ + n
main /mɛ̃/
Oralmanuel /manɥɛl/
Oral sound/a/ + n
- Un bon ami et une bonne amie.A good friend (m) and a good friend (f).
- Il est italien, elle est italienne.He's Italian, she's Italian.
Exceptions and special spellings
A few words nasalise despite the double letter, and a few spellings mislead.
ennui, ennuyer
Sound/ɑ̃/
NoteNasal despite nn
emmener, emménager
Sound/ɑ̃/
NoteNasal despite mm
enivrer, enorgueillir
Sound/ɑ̃/
NoteNasal before a vowel
examen
Sound/ɛɡzamɛ̃/
Note-en sounds /ɛ̃/
agenda
Sound/aʒɛ̃da/
Note-en- sounds /ɛ̃/
benjamin
Sound/bɛ̃ʒamɛ̃/
Noteen sounds /ɛ̃/
moyen, européen
Sound/ɛ̃/
Note-yen, -éen
-ien
Sound/jɛ̃/
Notebien, rien, chien, italien
-oin
Sound/wɛ̃/
Noteloin, besoin, coin
album, maximum
Sound/ɔm/
NoteLatin -um: pronounced m, not nasal
monsieur
Sound/məsjø/
NoteNo nasal at all
hymne, automne
Sound/m/ sounded or silent
Notehymne /imn/, automne /otɔn/
-ent, three ways
Always check the word's type before you speak.
Ils-form of a verb
Soundsilent
Examplesils parlent, elles chantent
Noun, adjective, adverb
Sound/ɑ̃/
Examplesle vent, content, lentement
Verbs like venir, tenir
Sound/ɛ̃/ or /jɛ̃/
Examplesil vient, il tient
- Ils parlent lentement.They speak slowly.
- Il vient souvent.He often comes.
Nasals and liaison
Before a vowel, some nasals keep their sound and add /n/, while others lose their nasal. Learn these common ones.
un
Sound before vowel/œ̃n/ (keeps nasal)
Exampleun ami
mon, ton, son
Sound before vowel/ɔ̃n/ (keeps nasal)
Examplemon ami
on
Sound before vowel/ɔ̃n/ (keeps nasal)
Exampleon arrive
en
Sound before vowel/ɑ̃n/ (keeps nasal)
Exampleen avion
bien, rien
Sound before vowel/jɛ̃n/ (keeps nasal)
Examplebien aimé, rien à faire
bon
Sound before vowel/bɔn/ (loses nasal)
Examplebon ami
moyen
Sound before vowel/mwajɛn/ (loses nasal)
Examplele Moyen Âge
plein
Sound before vowel/plɛn/ (loses nasal)
Exampleplein air
ancien
Sound before vowel/ɑ̃sjɛn/ (loses nasal)
Exampleancien élève
Training routine
1. Practise saying each vowel on its own, with no n. Hold your nose: a true nasal vowel changes sharply. 2. Record the three-way rows above, for example vent, vont, vin. 3. Add consonants: sans, son, saint. Then full phrases. 4. Listen for these contrasts in film dialogue.
Neither /ŋ/ as in 'sing' nor a full /n/ should appear. If you feel your tongue hit the roof of your mouth, you've gone too far.