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Pronuncation

Consonants

The French r 'gargle' is uttered by placing the tongue at the back of the throat.

vers
sœur
près
tribu
poetry
sweat
near
tribe
tourner
irlandais
grenouille
nerveux
to turn
Irish
frog
nervous


The letter h is always silent.

trahison
treachery, treason dehors outside

There are two important groupings of words beginning with h. The difference between them becomes important when we study liaison. They are...

Latin based words :

haut
héros
heure
high
hero
hour, time
homme
hier
hôpital
man
yesterday
hospital

h apiré words - of foreign, typically germanic language origin

haricot
hasard
hibou
homard
haine
bean
chance
owl
lobster
hatred
hausse
honte
haïr
harceler
hâter
increase
shame
to hate
to badger
to hasten


Letter combination ch is normally pronounced like English sh (left column), but in a few words ch is pronounced like English k (right column).

chanter
schéma
to sing
diagram
chaos
chœur
choléra
psychologie
chaos
choir
cholera
psychology



The letters th are pronounced as a hard t.
thé
théorie
méthode
tea
theory
method
enthousiasme
athlétisme
enthusiasm
track and field



The letters gn are normally pronounced like the ny of canyon in English- unless the g and the n are in two different syllables or begin a word.
champagne
enseignement
vigne
champagne
information
vine
ignition
gnome
 


The letter c before i, e is pronounced like English s. Before a, u, or o it is pronounced like k. When a tail, known as the cedilla, hangs down from the c - ç, it is pronounced like an s.

célèbre
ciel
cinq
ça
français
garçon
famous
sky
five
that
French
boy, waiter

cahier
calme
curieux
notebook
calm
curious


The letter l is normally pronounced like the English l. However, in the letter combination ille the l is pronounced [j]. The same is true when the letter combination il ends a word. There are a few exceptions to this rule; they are listed in the right column.

fille
orteil
oeil
travailler
il travaille
bouteille
feuille
mouiller

daughter
toe
eye
he works
to work
bottle
leaf
to moisten

mille
ville
belle
tranquille
village
thousand
city
beautiful
tranquil
village

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