French IPA and vowel sound chart with audio for beginners

Open your mouth wide, as in “chat” or “là.”

a

chat

à

là

â

pâte

Stretch your lips, as in “été” or “aller.”

é

été

er

parler

ez

chez

Your mouth is more open than for /e/, as in “mère” or “lait.”

è

mère

ê

être

ai

lait

Stretch your lips as far as you can, as in “lit” or “île.”

i

lit

î

île

y

style

Round your lips, as in “beau” or “chaud.”

o

vélo

ô

hôtel

au

beau

Your mouth is more open than for /o/, as in “porte” or “bonne.”

o

porte

o

bonne

o

homme

Lips are very rounded and pushed forward, as in “tout” or “roue.”

ou

tout

où

où

oû

goût

Say an /i/ sound with rounded lips, as in “lune” or “rue.”

u

lune

û

sûr

u

rue

Lips rounded and forward, as in “jeu” or “deux.”

eu

feu

œu

vœu

eu

deux

Your mouth is more open than for /ø/, as in “peur” or “fleur.”

eu

peur

œu

cœur

eu

jeune

A short, weak sound that may disappear in everyday speech, as in “le,” “petit,” or “demain.”

e

le

e

petit

e

demain

Air passes through the nose, as in “enfant” or “temps.”

an

enfant

am

champagne

en

vent

A rounded nasal sound, as in “bon” or “pont.”

on

bon

om

tomber

ont

ont

An open nasal sound, as in “vin” or “main.”

in

vin

im

simple

ain

pain

A gliding sound, as in “fille” or “yeux.”

i

piano

y

payer

ill

fille

A glide with rounded lips, as in “oui” or “roi.”

ou

oui

oi

roi

w

week-end

A glide typical of French, as in “lui” or “nuit.”

ui

lui

ui

nuit

ui

puis

Lips close then open, as in “papa” or “pont.”

p

papa

pp

nappe

p

pont

Like /p/ but voiced, as in “beau” or “robe.”

b

bateau

bb

abbaye

b

robe

The tongue touches the upper teeth, as in “table” or “thé.”

t

table

tt

cette

th

thé

Like /t/ but voiced, as in “deux” or “date.”

d

date

dd

addition

d

deux

The back of the tongue touches the palate, as in “quand” or “café.”

c

café

k

kilo

qu

queue

Like /k/ but voiced, as in “gare” or “bague.”

g

gare

gu

guerre

g

bague

Upper teeth touch the lower lip, as in “faire” or “photo.”

f

feu

ff

effet

ph

photo

Like /f/ but voiced, as in “vie” or “vert.”

v

vie

w

wagon

v

vert

Air passes between the tongue and the teeth, as in “sac” or “garçon.”

s

sac

c

ceci

ç

garçon

Like /s/ but voiced, as in “zéro” or “rose.”

z

zéro

s

rose

x

deuxième

Air flows out in a diffuse way, as in “chat” or “cher.”

ch

chat

ch

cher

sch

schéma

Like “sh” in “chat” but voiced, as in “je” or “rouge.”

j

je

g

gentil

ge

rouge

Lips close and air passes through the nose, as in “maman” or “femme.”

m

maman

mm

femme

m

merci

The tongue touches the teeth and air passes through the nose, as in “nous” or “bonne.”

n

nous

nn

anneau

n

nez

The middle of the tongue touches the palate, as in “montagne” or “signe.”

gn

montagne

gn

signe

gn

ligne

A nasal sound borrowed from English, as in “parking” or “camping.”

ng

parking

ng

camping

ng

shopping

The tongue touches the teeth; air passes at the sides, as in “lire” or “belle.”

l

lire

ll

belle

l

la

The sound comes from the back of the throat, as in “rouge” or “Paris.”

r

rouge

rr

terre

r

Paris