/a/
Open your mouth wide, as in “chat” or “là.”
- a
- chat
- à
- là
- â
- pâte
French IPA and vowel sound chart with audio for beginners
This chart maps the 35 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 18 consonants
Map 14 French vowel entries by what your mouth does.
Play one checked-in reference clip, connect its IPA symbol to a stable lip, tongue, and airflow target, then open the matching practice guide.
Open the interactive French vowel trainer. Compare French /e/, /ɛ/, and schwa /ə/ with audio. Hear French AN, EN, IN, and ON nasal vowels.
Move from isolated sounds into 547 useful French phrases with model audio and English meaning.
Choose Hear on any card. Only one reference clip plays at a time.
French vowels and nasal vowels
Keep each vowel stable. Change tongue position, lip rounding, and nasal resonance without adding an English-style glide.
/e/
Stretch your lips, as in “été” or “aller.”
- é
- été
- er
- parler
- ez
- chez
/ɛ/
Your mouth is more open than for /e/, as in “mère” or “lait.”
- è
- mère
- ê
- être
- ai
- lait
/i/
Stretch your lips as far as you can, as in “lit” or “île.”
- i
- lit
- î
- île
- y
- style
/o/
Round your lips, as in “beau” or “chaud.”
- o
- vélo
- ô
- hôtel
- au
- beau
/ɔ/
Your mouth is more open than for /o/, as in “porte” or “bonne.”
- o
- porte
- o
- bonne
- o
- homme
/u/
Lips are very rounded and pushed forward, as in “tout” or “roue.”
- ou
- tout
- où
- où
- oû
- goût
/y/
Say an /i/ sound with rounded lips, as in “lune” or “rue.”
- u
- lune
- û
- sûr
- u
- rue
/ø/
Lips rounded and forward, as in “jeu” or “deux.”
- eu
- feu
- œu
- vœu
- eu
- deux
/œ/
Your mouth is more open than for /ø/, as in “peur” or “fleur.”
- eu
- peur
- œu
- cœur
- eu
- jeune
/ə/
A short, weak sound that may disappear in everyday speech, as in “le,” “petit,” or “demain.”
- e
- le
- e
- petit
- e
- demain
/ɑ̃/
Air passes through the nose, as in “enfant” or “temps.”
- an
- enfant
- am
- champagne
- en
- vent
/ɔ̃/
A rounded nasal sound, as in “bon” or “pont.”
- on
- bon
- om
- tomber
- ont
- ont
/ɛ̃/
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/
A gliding sound, as in “fille” or “yeux.”
- i
- piano
- y
- payer
- ill
- fille
/w/
A glide with rounded lips, as in “oui” or “roi.”
- ou
- oui
- oi
- roi
- w
- week-end
/ɥ/
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/
Lips close then open, as in “papa” or “pont.”
- p
- papa
- pp
- nappe
- p
- pont
/b/
Like /p/ but voiced, as in “beau” or “robe.”
- b
- bateau
- bb
- abbaye
- b
- robe
/t/
The tongue touches the upper teeth, as in “table” or “thé.”
- t
- table
- tt
- cette
- th
- thé
/d/
Like /t/ but voiced, as in “deux” or “date.”
- d
- date
- dd
- addition
- d
- deux
/k/
The back of the tongue touches the palate, as in “quand” or “café.”
- c
- café
- k
- kilo
- qu
- queue
/ɡ/
Like /k/ but voiced, as in “gare” or “bague.”
- g
- gare
- gu
- guerre
- g
- bague
/f/
Upper teeth touch the lower lip, as in “faire” or “photo.”
- f
- feu
- ff
- effet
- ph
- photo
/v/
Like /f/ but voiced, as in “vie” or “vert.”
- v
- vie
- w
- wagon
- v
- vert
/s/
Air passes between the tongue and the teeth, as in “sac” or “garçon.”
- s
- sac
- c
- ceci
- ç
- garçon
/z/
Like /s/ but voiced, as in “zéro” or “rose.”
- z
- zéro
- s
- rose
- x
- deuxième
/ʃ/
Air flows out in a diffuse way, as in “chat” or “cher.”
- ch
- chat
- ch
- cher
- sch
- schéma
/ʒ/
Like “sh” in “chat” but voiced, as in “je” or “rouge.”
- j
- je
- g
- gentil
- ge
- rouge
/m/
Lips close and air passes through the nose, as in “maman” or “femme.”
- m
- maman
- mm
- femme
- m
- merci
/n/
The tongue touches the teeth and air passes through the nose, as in “nous” or “bonne.”
- n
- nous
- nn
- anneau
- n
- nez
/ɲ/
The middle of the tongue touches the palate, as in “montagne” or “signe.”
- gn
- montagne
- gn
- signe
- gn
- ligne
/ŋ/
A nasal sound borrowed from English, as in “parking” or “camping.”
- ng
- parking
- ng
- camping
- ng
- shopping
/l/
The tongue touches the teeth; air passes at the sides, as in “lire” or “belle.”
- l
- lire
- ll
- belle
- l
- la
/ʁ/
The sound comes from the back of the throat, as in “rouge” or “Paris.”
- r
- rouge
- rr
- terre
- r
- Paris
Reuse and adapt the 35-sound data.
Download the current sound inventory as CSV for teaching, research, and learning-tool prototypes.
Data is published under CC BY 4.0. Compare the learning inventory with the University of Texas French phonetics reference.
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 35 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.