lettre versus litre
/lɛtʁ/ vs /litʁ/
Change the contrasting sound while keeping the other sounds steady.
A2+ · Français pour l'emploi
Lettre de motivation: French dialogue with IPA and English
Follow all six turns, inspect the pronunciation, and practise the contrasts that matter inside this situation.
Six turns for this web role-play
French conversation, IPA, and English meaning
- MoiMa lettre de motivation est trop longue.1
/ma lɛtʁ də mɔtivasjɔ̃ ɛ tʁo lɔ̃ɡ/
My cover letter is too long. - AmiIl faut aller à l'essentiel et être percutant.2
/il fo ale a lesɑ̃sjɛl e ɛtʁ pɛʁkytɑ̃/
You have to get to the point and be impactful. - MoiJe dois parler de mes projets personnels?3
/ʒə dwa paʁle də me pʁɔʒɛ pɛʁsɔnɛl/
Do I have to talk about my personal projects? - AmiOui, si ça montre tes compétences techniques.4
/wi si sa mɔ̃tʁ te kɔ̃petɑ̃s tɛknik/
Yes, if it shows your technical skills. - MoiJe vais la réécrire pour ce poste de développeur.5
/ʒə vɛ la ʁeekʁiʁ puʁ sə pɔst də devlɔpœʁ/
I'm going to rewrite it for this developer position.Réécrire keeps both initial vowels in this careful reading. Faster speech can compress the vowel sequence.
- AmiN'oublie pas de vérifier l'orthographe, c'est vital!6
/nublie pa də veʁifje lɔʁtɔɡʁaf sɛ vital/
Don't forget to check the spelling, it's vital!
How to read this IPA. These are broad French reference readings, edited as complete sentences. Accent, schwa and optional liaison vary; many speakers use /ɛ̃/ where this reference keeps /œ̃/. The mark ‿ highlights a word link; | marks a rhythmic break; ↑ and ↓ suggest pitch movement.
Word readings adapted from Lexique 3.83, Boris New and Christophe Pallier et al.; sentence readings and notes edited by Parle. Revised IPA and notes: CC BY-SA 4.0. See OQLF on obligatory, forbidden and optional liaison. Reviewed .
Culture and context in French
Read the situation beyond the individual lines.
La lettre de motivation accompagne le CV. Elle doit expliquer pourquoi vous êtes le candidat idéal pour ce poste précis. Elle doit montrer votre connaissance de l'entreprise.
Four focused comparisons
Compare words before another full read.
Follow each card’s label and note. Some words differ by one sound, some share a pronunciation, and others differ more broadly. Use the sentence context when the words sound alike.
phrase versus fraise
/fʁaz/ vs /fʁɛz/
Change the contrasting sound while keeping the other sounds steady.
mot versus mode
/mo/ vs /mɔd/
Compare the complete words. This is not a one-sound minimal pair.
forme versus ferme
/fɔʁm/ vs /fɛʁm/
Change the contrasting sound while keeping the other sounds steady.
Word IPA adapted from Lexique 3.83, Boris New and Christophe Pallier et al., with contextual readings and notes edited by Parle. Comparison transcriptions and notes: CC BY-SA 4.0. Broad reference readings vary with accent and speaking style. See OQLF’s liaison guidance and prosody reference. Reviewed .
Role-play routine
Keep the intention; change one detail.
- Read the exchange once for meaning without stopping at every IPA symbol.
- Repeat one speaker's turns and keep the other turns as prompts.
- Change one time, place, object, or preference while preserving the structure.
- Switch roles and answer without reading the original line word for word.
- Use the sound chart for a reference clip when a sound is difficult.
Build a guided speaking habit in Parle.
The app follows a separate 120-mission course with model audio, recording and practical replies. The first 4 missions on greetings and introductions are free; Premium opens the complete course.