French Pronunciation Charts

m, -ain when final or before a consonant except -m or -n, or -h 
faim  
ainsi 
-aim, -ain when followed by a vowel
 aime 
 plaine 
-am, -an, -aon when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h 
champ  
fumant 
-am, -an when followed by a vowel or another -m or -n


tamis 
manne 
-au  chaud 
-au before -r  Fauré 
-ay, -aye, -ayes  payer 
French spellings for vowel -e IPA  French example with IPA
-é  été 
-è, -ê, -ë 
père 
forêts 
Noël 
-e before a single consonant and a vowel  cheval 
-e before two consonants  elle 
-e before final pronounced consonants  fer 
-e before final silent consonants (except -s and -t)  pied 
-e final spoken silent parle 
sung  parle 
-e final in monosyllables  je 
-er final - generally in non-verb forms  hiver 
-er final - in verb endings and some nouns and adjectives. 
parler  
boulanger 
-es final  parles 
-es final in monosyllables before a closed vowel
-es final in monosyllables before an open vowel


les  
des 
-et final  filet 
et (the words meaning and)  et 
-eau  beau 
-ei  seize 
-eim & -ein when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h  plein 
-em & -en when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h  ensemble 
-em & -en when followed by a vowel the -e is not nasal
 tenir  
 tennis 
-emm & -enn when initial remain nasal except ennemi 
 emmêler 
 ennui 
-en after -i  viens 
-ent final  firmament 
-ent final in third person plural verb endings  parlent 
-eu in the interior of a word  heure 
-eu before [z]  creuse 
-eu as a final sound  peu 
-ge before a back vowel (-a, -o, -u)  Georges 
French spellings for the vowel -i IPA  French example with IPA
-i single including before a mute -e  finir 
-î with the circonflexe   île 
-ï with the diérèse   Aïda 
-i preceding a stressed vowel  bien 
Final -il and -ille, and medial -ill  aille 
-ill and ille with no other vowel  fille 
-im and -in when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h 
timbre 
brin 
French spellings for the vowel -o IPA  French example with IPA
-o preceding a consonant or a vowel  doter 
-o when final sound  mot 
-ô  ôter 
-o before [z]  rose 
-oe and -oeu  coeur 
-oi  voix 
-oin when final or before a consonant ex. -h  loin 
-oy  royal 
-ou are before a stressed vowel  oui 
-om -on when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h  nom 
-eon.  pigeon 
-ou, -où and -oû  vous 
French spellings for the vowel -u IPA  French example with IPA
-u after g- and q- silent guitare 
-u,- û, -ü(e), and -ue  murmure 
-um and -un followed by a vowel, but not -m, -n, or -h.  unanime 
-ue when followed by -il, -ill, or –ille  orgueil 
-que when final or not followed by double consonants  que 
-ueu after -g and –q  vainqueur 
-u before a stressed vowel  lui 
-um and -un when final or before a consonant except-m or -n, or -h  brun 
French spellings for the vowel -y IPA  French example with IPA
-y or -ÿ except when nasal  martyr 
-ym and -yn before a vowel  hymne 
-yn and -ym when final or before a consonant ex. -m or -n, or -h  thym 
-y initial in a word  yeux 
-y between two vowels  royal 
Consonant pronunciation
While consonant pronunciation is considerably easier than for vowels, it still offers some challenges for
the singer. Each individual consonant will be presented with a minimum of two pronunciation examples:
first, a general pronunciation for the single and double consonant in the initial and medial position, and
second, a possible final pronunciation. If such exist, pronunciation variants in liaison, and combination
will also be presented.
Letter French Spelling IPA French Word with IPA
b -b or -bb initial and medial  beau 
 abbesse 
final silent plomb 
followed by -s or -t  absolu 
c -c before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y)  ciel 
-cc before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y)  accent 
-c or -cc before a back vowel (-a, -o, -u) or a cons.  encore 
final  parc  
final after -n silent blanc 
-ct final   direct 
silent respect 
-ç with the çédille   garçon 
-ch  blanche 
-ch in words of Greek origin  Christ 
-cqu  acquisition 
d -d or -dd initial or medial  doux 
 addition 
final silent pied 
in liaison  grand_arbre 
f -f or -ff initial or medial  enfant 
 effort 
final  comparatif 
in liaison  neuf_heures 
g -g before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y)  sabotage 
-gg before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y)  suggestion 
-g or -gg before a back vowel (-a, -o, -u) or a cons.  grave 
final silent sang 
in liaison  sang_et eau 
-ge before a back vowel (-a, -o, -u) or a consonant   pigeon 
-gu before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y)  gigue 
-gn  compagnon 
-gt silent doigt 
h Initial -h is classified as mute and aspirate - both are always silent but,
-h initial mute allows liaison or elision silent douze_heure 
-h initial aspirate allows no linking silent tres *hideuse  
-h medial silent souhaiter 
j -j  jardin 
k found in words of foreign origin only  kilo 
final  kodak 
l -l or -ll initial or medial  large 
 ballet 
final  ideal 
-il, -ill, and -ille (but not final -ile)  soleil 
 papillons j
 famille 
In the these words and their derivatives  mille (thousand)

tranquille (tranquil)
ville (villages)
m -m or -mm initial or medial  mardi 
 flamme 
after a nasal vowel silent parfum 
in liaison  nom_à tiroirs 
n -n or -nn initial or medial  neige 
 année 
after a nasal vowel silent ensemble 
in liaison  en_aimant 
p -p or -pp initial or medial  captive 
 support 
final silent trop 
in liaison  trop_en 
-mpt silent compter 
-ph  philosophe 
q -qu initial or medial  liqueur 
final  cinq 
in liaison  cinq_enfants 
r Spoken French makes use of the uvular  that is appropriate for dialogue and cabaret songs.
-r or -rr initial,  rapide 
-r or -rr medial or final  garage 
 terrible 
 hiver 
-er, -ier, or -yer final in some nouns and adjectives silent foyer (noun) 
-er in the infinitive verb form  parler 
s -s and -ss initial or medial  séance 
 Debussy 
-s medial between vowels  maison 
-s final silent toujours 
-s final in exceptions  hélas 
 lis 
 fils 
in liaison  mes_yeux ]
-sc before a front vowel (-e, -i, or -y)  descendre 
-sc before a back vowel (-a, -o, -u) or a consonant  scandale 
-sch initial or medial  schéma 
t -t or -tt initial or medial  total 
 glotte 
-t final silent tuot 
-t in liaison  tout_un 
-th  Thomas 
-ti in endings -tion and -tience  attention 
-tie when final  sortie 
v -v initial or medial  souvenir 
w -w found in words of foreign origin  Wagon 
x before consonants  texte 
before vowels or -h  exemple  
in numbers  deuxieme 
in liaison  deux_enfants 
z initial or medial  zèle 
 douze 
final silent chez 
Final as an exception  Berlioz 
Part two: A list of French sounds with some of the more common French spellings.
Adapted and expanded from Le Petit Robert CD-Rom.
 Vowels  Consonants
 il, épi, lyre  père, soupe
 blé, aller, chez, et, j’ai, tes  terre, vite

lait, merci, fète, Noël, forêts, hiver, Seigneur
soleil, hotel, bouquet  cou, qui, sac, képi
 ami, patti,  bon, robe
 pas, pâte  dans, aide
 fort, donner, sol  gar, bague, gui
 mot, dôme, eau, saule  feu, neuf, photo
 genou, roue  sale, celui, ça, dessous, tasse
 peu, deux, creuse  chat, tache schéma
 peur, meuble, ceuile  vous, rêve
 brin, plein, bain  zéro, maison, rose
 sans, vent  je, gilet, geôle
 ton, ombre, bonté  lent, sol
 lundi, brun, parfum  rue, venir
  mot, flamme
 Semi-vowels  nous, tonne, animal
 yeux, paille, pied, panier  agneau, vigne
 oui, fouet, joua, joie 
 huile, lui | no liaison or elision allowed