French 1 / Unit 1: Greetings and Introductions
1.6 Pronunciation Basics
Notes
French spelling and sound follow patterns you can learn.
- Final consonants are usually silent: petit (puh-tee), vous (voo), Paris (pah-ree). But often C, R, F, L at the end ARE pronounced (think "CaReFuL"): avec, bonjour, actif, sol.
- The letter h is always silent: homme, hôtel.
- Liaison: a normally silent final consonant is pronounced before a vowel: vous_avez (voo-za-vay), les_amis.
- Nasal vowels: on, an/en, in/ain (bon, enfant, matin) are pronounced through the nose; the n is not pronounced as a separate sound.
- Stress falls on the last syllable of a group of words.
Practice
Which final consonant is usually pronounced?
The final letters C, R, F, L are often pronounced (CaReFuL), so the r in bonjour is heard.
In « les amis », the s of « les » is pronounced like z. What is this called?
Liaison links a silent final consonant to a following vowel sound.
How do you pronounce the letter h in « hôtel » ?
The French h is always silent.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 1 test.