Learn French - Lesson 1 - How to Pronounce French Vowels

French People Don’t Speak The Way They Write

French Vowels:

The hardest about french pronounciation is get familiar with how vowels are pronounced. Some of these sounds don't exist in english but, don't worry because most of them are already known by you.

Take a look at the following table and practice the sounds that are equal in english. You can think about the others as opened and closed versions of the sounds that you already know.

Vowel                French Example           English Example          Spelling

  [a]                       rapporter                   not-nut                          a, à, â

  [i]                        lit                             sheep                            i, y

  [e]                       prés                           wait                             é, et, final er and ez 

  [ø]                       lait                            (like an opened [e])       è. ê, ai, ei, ais, 

  [ə]                       genou                        (like a closed [e])          e

  [œ]                      jeune                         (like an opened [o])       eu, oeu

  [o]                       paume                       coat                             o, ô      

  [u]                       tu                              moon                          u, ou    

         

It can seem confusing at first but there is a very simple and funny way to get familiar with this new sounds. 

Listen to a french song and reading the lyrics at the same time, pay attention to the words that have the spellings listed above and identify the pronounciations.

Rapidly, you will be able to identify all the vowel sounds and with a little bit of practice, you will master them.