Pronunciation
Consonants
| IPA | Beginning of word | Beg IPA | Middle of word | Mid IPA | End of word | End IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [b] | beaucoup | [boku] | début | [deby] | tombe | [tɔ̃ːb] |
| [d] | de | [də] | idée | [ide] | grande | [ɡʁɑ̃ːd] |
| [f] | femme | [fam] | enfin | [ɑ̃fɛ̃] | neuf | [nœːf] |
| [k] | que | [kə] | lequel | [ləkɛl] | chaque | [ʃak] |
| [l] | le | [lə] | celui | [səlɥi] | il | [il] |
| [m] | même | [mɛm] | famille | [famij] | système | [sistɛm] |
| [n] | nous | [nu] | donner | [dɔne] | une | [yn] |
| [p] | peu | [pø] | époque | [epɔk] | type | [tip] |
| [s] | si | [si] | aussi | [osi] | place | [plas] |
| [t] | temps | [tɑ̃] | était | [etɛ] | toute | [tut] |
| [v] | vous | [vu] | avec | [avɛk] | arrive | [aʁiːv] |
| [z] | zone | [zoːn] | maison | [mɛzɔ̃] | quinze | [kɛ̃ːz] |
| [ɡ] | gauche | [ɡoːʃ] | également | [eɡalmɑ̃] | vague | [vaɡ] |
| [ɲ] | - | gagner | [ɡaɲe] | ligne | [liɲ] | |
| [ʁ] | raison | [ʁɛzɔ̃] | sera | [səʁa] | jour | [ʒuːʁ] |
| [ʃ] | chef | [ʃɛf] | échapper | [eʃape] | riche | [ʁiʃ] |
| [ʒ] | jamais | [ʒamɛ] | déjà | [deʒa] | rouge | [ʁuːʒ] |
| [dʒ] | Djibouti | [dʒibuti] | budget | [bydʒɛ] | Cambodge | [kɑ̃bɔdʒ] |
| [tʃ] | tchèque | [tʃɛk] | caoutchouc | [kautʃu] | match | [matʃ] |
| [ŋ] | - | - | - | - | meeting | [miti] |
Semivowels
| IPA | Beginning of word | Beg IPA | Middle of word | Mid IPA | End of word | End IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [j] | hiérarchie | [jeʁaʁʃi] | Dieu | [djø] | fille | [fij] |
| [w] | oui | [wi] | loi | [lwa] | - | - |
| [ɥ] | huitième | [ɥitjɛm] | lui | [lɥi] | - | - |
Oral vowels
| IPA | Beginning of word | Beg IPA | Middle of word | Mid IPA | End of word | End IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [a] | année | [ane] | travail | [tʁavaj] | moi | [mwa] |
| [e] | été | [ete] | général | [ʒeneʁal] | vérité | [veʁite] |
| [i] | ici | [isi] | ville | [vil] | qui | [ki] |
| [o] | aucune | [okyn] | côté | [kote] | nouveau | [nuvo] |
| [u] | ouverte | [uvɛʁt] | souvent | [suvɑ̃] | coup | [ku] |
| [y] | unique | [ynik] | étude | [etyd] | pu | [py] |
| [ø] | Europe | [øʁɔp] | deuxième | [døzjɛm] | lieu | [ljø] |
| [œ] | œil | [œːj] | seul | [sœːl] | - | - |
| [ɔ] | homme | [ɔm] | comme | [kɔm] | - | - |
| [ə] | - | - | besoin | [bəzwɛ̃] | ne | [nə] |
| [ɛ] | elle | [ɛl] | nouvelle | [nuvɛl] | sujet | [syʒɛ] |
Nasal vowels
| IPA | Beginning of word | Beg IPA | Middle of word | Mid IPA | End of word | End IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [ɑ̃] | ensuite | [ɑ̃sɥit] | exemple | [ɛɡzɑ̃ːpl] | seulement | [sœlmɑ̃] |
| [ɔ̃] | oncle | [ɔ̃kl] | longtemps | [lɔ̃tɑ̃] | nom | [nɔ̃] |
| [ɛ̃] | ainsi | [ɛ̃si] | principe | [pʁɛ̃sip] | loin | [lwɛ̃] |
Footnotes for the IPA chart
Note that this IPA chart doesn't include the following sounds:
- [x] is a rare non-native consonant that may occur in some loaned Spanish and Arabic words (jota, khamsin).
- [œ̃] is pronounced as [ɛ̃] by most French speakers in France, including Paris.
- [ɑ] is now pronounced as [a] by most French speakers in France.