/a/ Practice guide
Open your mouth wide, as in “chat” or “là.”
- a
- chat
- à
- là
- â
- pâte
French sound chart for beginners
This chart maps the 36 sounds used in Parle's phoneme library to common French spellings, example words, and one physical pronunciation cue. Use it as a speaking reference, not a symbol memorisation test.
14 vowels 3 semi-vowels 19 consonants
French vowels and nasal vowels
Keep each vowel stable. Change tongue position, lip rounding, and nasal resonance without adding an English-style glide.
/e/ Practice guide
Stretch your lips, as in “été” or “aller.”
- é
- été
- er
- parler
- ez
- chez
/ɛ/ Practice guide
Your mouth is more open than for /e/, as in “mère” or “lait.”
- è
- mère
- ê
- être
- ai
- lait
/i/ Practice guide
Stretch your lips as far as you can, as in “lit” or “île.”
- i
- lit
- î
- île
- y
- style
/o/ Practice guide
Round your lips, as in “beau” or “chaud.”
- o
- vélo
- ô
- hôtel
- au
- beau
/ɔ/ Practice guide
Your mouth is more open than for /o/, as in “porte” or “bonne.”
- o
- porte
- o
- bonne
- o
- homme
/u/ Practice guide
Lips are very rounded and pushed forward, as in “tout” or “roue.”
- ou
- tout
- où
- où
- oû
- goût
/y/ Practice guide
Say an /i/ sound with rounded lips, as in “lune” or “rue.”
- u
- lune
- û
- sûr
- u
- rue
/ø/ Practice guide
Lips rounded and forward, as in “jeu” or “deux.”
- eu
- feu
- œu
- vœu
- eu
- deux
/œ/ Practice guide
Your mouth is more open than for /ø/, as in “peur” or “fleur.”
- eu
- peur
- œu
- cœur
- eu
- jeune
/ə/ Practice guide
A short, weak sound, as in “le” or “petit.”
- e
- le
- e
- petit
- e
- demain
/ɑ̃/ Practice guide
Air passes through the nose, as in “enfant” or “temps.”
- an
- enfant
- am
- champagne
- en
- vent
/ɔ̃/ Practice guide
A rounded nasal sound, as in “bon” or “pont.”
- on
- bon
- om
- tomber
- ont
- ont
/ɛ̃/ Practice guide
An open nasal sound, as in “vin” or “main.”
- in
- vin
- im
- simple
- ain
- pain
French semi-vowels
These short glides connect vowels quickly. They should move into the next sound without becoming an extra syllable.
/j/ Practice guide
A gliding sound, as in “fille” or “yeux.”
- i
- piano
- y
- payer
- ill
- fille
/w/ Practice guide
A glide with rounded lips, as in “oui” or “roi.”
- ou
- oui
- oi
- roi
- w
- week-end
/ɥ/ Practice guide
A glide typical of French, as in “lui” or “nuit.”
- ui
- lui
- ui
- nuit
- ui
- puis
French consonants
Focus on clean placement, lighter release, and the difference between written letters and consonants that are actually pronounced.
/p/ Practice guide
Lips close then open, as in “papa” or “pont.”
- p
- papa
- pp
- nappe
- p
- pont
/b/ Practice guide
Like /p/ but voiced, as in “beau” or “robe.”
- b
- bateau
- bb
- abbaye
- b
- robe
/t/ Practice guide
The tongue touches the upper teeth, as in “table” or “thé.”
- t
- table
- tt
- cette
- th
- thé
/d/ Practice guide
Like /t/ but voiced, as in “deux” or “date.”
- d
- date
- dd
- addition
- d
- deux
/k/ Practice guide
The back of the tongue touches the palate, as in “quand” or “café.”
- c
- café
- k
- kilo
- qu
- queue
/ɡ/ Practice guide
Like /k/ but voiced, as in “gare” or “bague.”
- g
- gare
- gu
- guerre
- g
- bague
/f/ Practice guide
Upper teeth touch the lower lip, as in “faire” or “photo.”
- f
- feu
- ff
- effet
- ph
- photo
/v/ Practice guide
Like /f/ but voiced, as in “vie” or “vert.”
- v
- vie
- w
- wagon
- v
- vert
/s/ Practice guide
Air passes between the tongue and the teeth, as in “sac” or “garçon.”
- s
- sac
- c
- ceci
- ç
- garçon
/z/ Practice guide
Like /s/ but voiced, as in “zéro” or “rose.”
- z
- zéro
- s
- rose
- x
- deuxième
/ʃ/ Practice guide
Air flows out in a diffuse way, as in “chat” or “cher.”
- ch
- chat
- ch
- cher
- sch
- schéma
/ʒ/ Practice guide
Like “sh” in “chat” but voiced, as in “je” or “rouge.”
- j
- je
- g
- gentil
- ge
- rouge
/m/ Practice guide
Lips close and air passes through the nose, as in “maman” or “femme.”
- m
- maman
- mm
- femme
- m
- merci
/n/ Practice guide
The tongue touches the teeth and air passes through the nose, as in “nous” or “bonne.”
- n
- nous
- nn
- anneau
- n
- nez
/ɲ/ Practice guide
The middle of the tongue touches the palate, as in “montagne” or “signe.”
- gn
- montagne
- gn
- signe
- gn
- ligne
/ŋ/ Practice guide
A nasal sound borrowed from English, as in “parking” or “camping.”
- ng
- parking
- ng
- camping
- ng
- shopping
/l/ Practice guide
The tongue touches the teeth; air passes at the sides, as in “lire” or “belle.”
- l
- lire
- ll
- belle
- l
- la
/ʁ/ Practice guide
The sound comes from the back of the throat, as in “rouge” or “Paris.”
- r
- rouge
- rr
- terre
- r
- Paris
/h/ Practice guide
Aspirated h blocks liaison and elision, as in “les haricots” or “la honte.”
- h
- haricot
- h
- héros
- h
- honte
Move from symbol to speech.
Choose one IPA symbol, listen to one model in Parle, say the sound alone, then use an example word in a short sentence. The symbol is useful only when it changes what you hear and what your mouth does.
IPA notation follows the conventions of the International Phonetic Association. French examples and learning cues are synchronized from the Parle iOS curriculum.
French sound chart questions
How many French sounds are in this chart?
This learning chart contains 36 phonemes used in Parle's beginner pronunciation library.
Do beginners need to memorise every IPA symbol?
No. Start with one difficult contrast, connect the symbol to a mouth cue and example word, then practise it inside a short sentence.
Why can one French sound have several spellings?
French spelling developed over time, so the same sound may appear as different letter groups. IPA helps show the shared sound directly.