French sounds and spelling · Free lesson
French Y and ILL: a Video Spelling Lesson
Distinguish the letter y, the vowel /i/ and the glide /j/.
Watch, listen, then practise · 1 minute 33 seconds
Original Parle lesson with English captions, AI-assisted graphics and synthesized reference audio. The /i/ clip is an isolated sound; famille and Je travaille dans un bureau are complete word/phrase models. Other words are written examples. Watch on YouTube · Read the captions.
Use the lesson
- Hear the isolated /i/ model, then find the quick glide /j/ in the complete word famille.
- Choose fille rather than ville in the spelling check. Ville, mille and tranquille retain /l/.
- Hear Je travaille dans un bureau as a full phrase. Other displayed words are written examples, not audio recordings.
Lesson text and French models
Read the French models and the instructions you see in the video. Open the plain-text captions.
French Y and ILL
Hear /i/, find /j/ in a word, then check two spellings.
Isolated /i/ model; stylo is a written example.
Written y can stand for the vowel /i/.
Keep the vowel /i/ steady
Whole-word model: famille means family.
The glide /j/ is quick and joined to a vowel.
Hear the glide /j/ in famille
stylo /stilo/ · pen
yeux /jø/ · eyes
Written y is a letter. IPA /y/ is a different, rounded vowel.
Which ll stands for /j/? A fille or B ville?
Answer: A · fille /fij/
fille /fij/ · girl / daughter
ville /vil/ · town / city
Ville, mille and tranquille keep /l/. Learn the whole word.
Je travaille dans un bureau. I work in an office.
Separate the vowel /i/, the glide /j/ and the consonant /l/.
Free matching lesson: getparle.app.
App: 35 Sounds and first 4 Course missions free.
Full 120-mission App course requires Premium.
Synthesized reference audio and AI-assisted graphics. Created by the Parle developer; no voice assessment.
Word readings adapted from Lexique3.83, Boris New and Christophe Pallier et al. (https://openlexicon.fr/datasets-info/Lexique383/README-Lexique.html), with IPA examples/answer notes under CC BY-SA4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). This does not license the audio or software. Glide explanation: https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/24505/la-prononciation/notions-de-base-en-phonetique/les-semi-voyelles
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This video and its matching website practice are free. In the optional iPhone and iPad App, all 35 Sounds pages and the first 4 First Contact Course missions are free. The full 120-mission course requires Premium. Phrase Match detects words; it does not grade your accent.
Explore all 35 Sounds freeOriginal lesson by the developer of Parle: Learn & Speak French, App ID 6761505050. AI-assisted scripts and graphics; synthesized reference audio. About Parle.