Section 1: ALPHABET - CONSONANTS

There are 6 sections in this course. In this first section called Alphabet, the one you are in right now, we’re going through the entire alphabet and every possible sound with each of the 26 letters, with words to give you context, every time. 26 letters does not mean 26 sounds as one letter can have different sounds. This means there will be more than 26 sounds. I will break it all down for you so you encounter every possible sound French vowels and consonants can make.

This first section is organized in 2 parts. The first part covered the vowels and this second part covers the consonants.

So now let’s explore the consonants! For consonants we have to work harder than we do for vowels, but don’t worry, it’s still easy. In order to make consonants, we need our lips, our tongue, our palate, and our teeth. Without these, we could not even get close to a consonant sound!

Again, I will show you what it looks like from a profile perspective. This will help you to see, for instance, when my lips are out for some sounds. And I want you to notice that whether they are out or not does not necessarily depend on the consonants. It could also depend on a vowel that comes right after a consonant.

For instance, when I say cabaret, the word starts with a c, you notice that I don’t put my lips out there, you might conclude no need to put my lips out there for the consonant c. You would be wrong. Look what happens when I say cognac. Both cabaret and cognac start with the letter c so what’s the difference? The vowels. You don’t need your lips out there for the vowel a but you do for the vowel o. Got it? Alright let’s go!

CONSONNE b

b as in BUS = bus

You simply make this sound with your lips pressed together, it’s easy.

BUS

CONSONNE c

c as in CABARET or as in CYGNE = cabaret & swan

You’ve noticed, we have 2 different sounds for c here, so I’ll share with you both sounds. In fact the sound changes depending on the vowel that comes immediately after it.

1- If your c is placed before vowels a, o, u, it’s a hard c as in cabaret, cognac, culture - cabaret, brandy, culture.This sound is made from the pressure created between your palate and your tongue pressed together and released.

CABARETCOGNACCULTURE

2- If your c is placed before vowels e, i, y, it’s a soft c as in silence, cigarette, cygne - silence, cigarette, swanTo make this sound you need your teeth, just like when you say snake.

SILENCECIGARETTECYGNE

3- Now let’s say you want the soft c, and not the hard c sound, with the first 3 vowels a, o, u, which as we’ve seen normally produce a hard c and not a soft c sound.

What do you do? Easy, you simply add the cédille underneath the c as in français, reçu, garçon - french, receipt, boyAs above, you need your teeth to make this s sound.

FRANÇAISGARÇONREÇU

CONSONNE d

d as in DOCUMENT = document

This sound is made with your teeth. Now look what happens when I say document. With the sound d, my lips are flat. When I say document, my lips are out there. Conclusion? It’s not the d, it’s the o. My lips need to be ready for the o as I make my d, hence, they’re already out there as I start my d sound.

DOCUMENT

CONSONNE f

f as in FEMME = woman

For this sound you use both your teeth and your lips, lips come pressing against the teeth and you blow.

FEMME

CONSONNE g

g as in ARGUMENT or as in RIGIDE = argument & rigid

You’ve noticed, just like for the consonant c, we have 2 different sounds for g here, so I’ll share with you both sounds. In fact the sound changes depending on the vowel that comes immediately after it.

1- If your g is placed before vowels a, o, u, it’s a hard g as in garçon, argot, argument - boy, slang, argumentThis sound is made from the pressure created between your palate and your tongue pressed together and released.

GARÇONARGOTARGUMENT

2- If your g is placed before vowels e, i, y, it’s a soft g as in fromage, rigide, gymnastique - cheese, rigid, gymnasticsTo make this sound you need your lips out there.Your jaw is almost closed.Your tongue is going up to your palate.

FROMAGERIGIDEGYMNASTIQUE

3- Now lets’ say you want the soft g sound with the first 3 vowels a, o, u, which as we’ve seen normally produce a hard g and not a soft g sound.

What do you do? Easy, you simply add the vowel e between your g and your vowel a, o, or u, as in orangeade, nous mangeons, voyageur - orange squash, we eat, traveler.

Now be careful! Don’t go adding an e sound! Remember that the e here is not pronounced, its only purpose is to transform a hard g into a soft g sound.

ORANGEADENOUS MANGEONSVOYAGEUR

4- And now let’s say you want the hard g sound with the last 3 vowels e, i, y, which as we've seen normally produce a soft g and not a hard g sound.

What do you do? Easy again, you simply add the vowel u between your g and your vowel e, i, y as in guerre, guide, Guy - war, guide, Guy.

Now again be careful! Don’t go adding a u sound! Remember that the u here is not pronounced, its only purpose is to transform a soft g into a hard g sound.

GUERREGUIDEGUY

CONSONNE h

Now, H is a tricky consonant so be careful! It is never pronounced in French! The sound h as in happy does not exist. So forget about that hhhhappy sound all together! Just pretend there is nothing there and that will help, whether at the beginning of a word, hôtel, or in the middle of words, cathédrale, it’s just not pronounced.

Hôtel: pronounce it as you would if it started with the second letter, that is the vowel ô = hôtel

Cathédrale: pronounce it as you would if the “th” was replaced with a “t” alone = cathédrale

Now of course if it was so easy, I wouldn’t have said be careful at the beginning of this letter… Yes there is one more thing you need to take into account and that is: there are 2 types of h.

1- One that you completely and entirely ignore, it’s called le h muet or mute h as in hôtel;

2- And the other that you don’t pronounce but you can’t completely ignore either, it’s called le h aspiré or aspirated h as in harpe.

Can’t hear a difference yet? That’s normal. You’ll hear it once I add an article in front of these 2 words.

Let’s have a look at hôtel

un hôtel, do you hear the liaison?

des hôtels, do you hear the liaison?

l’hôtel, do you hear the apostrophe? I’m not saying le hôtel but l’hôtel

les hôtels, do you hear the liaison?

All of there above happened because I told you to completely ignore the h and pretend the word begins with the vowel ô instead. So the liaisons & apostrophes rules apply as if hôtel began with a vowel.

I’ve added a list of French words beginning with a h muet on the PDF below this one on the main Section 1 page. In case you’re wondering!

Normally the initial H in the words originating from Greek and Latin, is muet.

Now let’s have a look at harpe

une harpe, no liaison

la harpe, no apostrophe, I’m not saying l’harpe

des harpes, no liaison

les harpes, no liaison

Do you know that area in Paris called les Halles?

Notice how I’m saying les Halles without a liaison?

Why? Because it’s not un h muet, it’s a h aspiré, and even though you don’t pronounce it, it cannot be completely ignored.

You don’t pronounce the h but you do acknowledged that there is a consonant there, meaning you can’t pretend the word begins with a vowel, hence the no liaison and the no apostrophe rule.

I’ve also added a list of French words beginning with a h aspiré on the PDF below this one on the main Section 1 page. In case you’re wondering!

Normally the initial H in the words originating from German, is aspiré.

But hey, Just for fun, one more example for a h muet - homme = man

un homme, do you hear the liaison?

des hommes, do you hear the liaison?

l’homme, do you hear the apostrophe? I’m not saying le homme.

les hommes, do you hear the liaison?

And one more example for a h aspiré - haricot vert = green bean

un haricot, no liaison

des haricots, no liaison

le haricot, no apostrophe, I’m not saying l’haricot

les haricots, no liaison

CONSONNE j

j as in journal = newspaper

The consonant j sounds exactly like the consonant g when it is made soft by the vowels e, i, or y. Can you hear the same sound in journal and in voyageur? To make this sound you need your lips out there.Your jaw is almost closed.

Your tongue is going up to your palate.

JOURNAL

CONSONNE k

k as in kiosque = kiosk

This is the same exact sound as the letter c placed before the vowels a, o, u. Remember we had cabaret, cognac, culture. This k sound is made from the pressure created between your palate and your tongue pressed together and released. By the way, we’ll see that in section 2, but I’m sure you’ve already noticed the qu combination at the end of kiosque sounds exactly like the k at the beginning of kiosque. KIOSQUE

CONSONNE l

l as in LÉGUMES = vegetables

Place the tip of your tongue against the front part of your palate, and there’s your l consonant sound.

LÉGUMES

CONSONNE m

m as in MÉTRO = subway

You simply make this sound with your lips pressed together, it’s easy. Notice how it’s also a nasal sound? Compare it with b, which sound you also make by pressing both your lips together, yet hear how there is no nasal in b, but there is in m.

MÉTRO

CONSONNE n

n as in NOVEMBRE = November

This sound is made with your teeth. Again, notice how it’s also a nasal sound? Compare it with d, which sound you also make with your teeth, yet hear how there is no nasal in d, but there is in n.

NOVEMBRE

CONSONNE p

p as in PROBLÈME = problem

You simply make this sound with your lips pressed together, it’s easy!

By the way, that’s a fun French sound of… slight contempt! You just need to bring a little f sound to it. And of course the non impressed face…

PROBLÈME

CONSONNE q

q as in QUESTION = question

q makes the sound k as in kiosque or as in cabaret but it needs to be followed by the vowel u.

If you open a French dictionary at the letter q you will see a couple of words beginning with q followed by the vowels a & i but you’ll also realize they’re foreign words such as qi gong. After these very few foreign exceptions, you’ll notice every word begins with qu.

For instance the question words que, qui, quand, but also words like quiche, Québec, quinze, the verb quitter, etc.

This is the same exact sound as the letter c placed before the vowels a, o, u, as in cabaret, cognac, culture. This is also the same exact sound as the letter k as in kiosque. You make it with the pressure created between your palate and your tongue pressed together and released.

QUESTION

CONSONNE r

r as in ROSE = Rose (flower, name) or Pink (color)

Ok so I know people really get stuck on this one. Don’t.

Firstly, even if it’s not perfect, people will understand you. Truly, they will. Chances are, the harder you try, the goofier it sounds. Plus you’ll be stopping half way through your sentence, repeating your word 3 times, and it’s when you do that that people don’t understand you and also can get impatient. Just say your sentence in one go it will sound a lot clearer than if you stop at every word trying to make it perfect, and thusly, making it worse.

Secondly, it is not the harsh sound that you think. You do not need to sound like you’re clearing your throat and about to spit on the sidewalk. Many years ago one of my students compared it to the English h. I had never thought about that before and it’s genius. Listen to me, when I say the flower rose. Does it sound more like an English h or like a throat cleaner?

Now let’s have a look at the technique

It’s done in the back of your mouth, the beginning of your throat. Make your tongue thicker so that there isn’t too much space at the entrance of your throat. Try blocking your tongue with your bottom teeth.Push your tongue down with the help of a pen (it doesn’t have to be pink ;-)

Here are some more words for you to practice with

rose, rouge, restaurant, rire, restaurant, ratatouille.

It even works when the r is placed in the middle of words: trois.

CONSONNE s

s as in SILENCE, RESTER, ROSE, TU ES, MOUSSE = silence, to stay, rose, you are, mousse

You’ve noticed, we have several different sounds for s here, so I’ll share them all with you. In fact the sound changes depending on 2 things:

1- where is that consonant s positioned in the word: at the beginning, in the middle, at the end?

2- is the consonant s doubled or not? In other words, do we have one s or 2?

Let’s have a look at our first question: where is the consonant s positioned in the word?

If your s is placed at the beginning of a word as in silence, it’s a hard s sound.To make this sound you need your teeth, just like when you say snake.

SILENCE

If your s is placed in the middle of a word between a vowel and a consonant as in rester, which by the way is a faux-ami, a false friend, it does not mean to rest, it means to stay. Rester = to stay. Little digression here I know but sometimes you just need them. If you’ve never heard of a faux-ami or false friend, it’s a French word that looks just like an English and therefore leads you to believe it means the same when it does not. Rester is great example. You see rester you think “Easy, of course it means to rest!” Nope! It means to stay. To rest in French is se reposer.

Back to our consonant s. If your s is placed in the middle of a word between a vowel and a consonant as in rester = to stay, it’s also a hard s sound.To make this sound you need your teeth, just like when you say snake.

RESTER

If your s is placed in the middle of a word between 2 vowels as in rose, now it’s different, it’s a soft s sound. Can you hear the difference between Silence, reSter - hard s snake - and roSe - soft s zebra.To make this sound you also need your teeth, just like when you say zebra.

ROSE

If your s is placed at the end of a word, often it’s simply the mark of the plural or a verb ending.

Plural

In English, you say 1 book, 2 books, you add the s and you pronounce it for plural.

In French, we add the s for plural too, but we don’t pronounce it, we say 1 livre, 2 livres. You see the difference, you do not hear, 1 livre, 2 livres.

Verb endings

Some verb endings also finish with a s, which you also do not pronounce. Let’s pick 1 crucial French verb and explore it, to be, être, in the present tense.

you are = tu es (casual)we are = nous sommesyou are = vous êtes (formal or you all)

Let’s continue with the same verb but with a past tense called imparfait:

I was = j’étaisYou were = tu étais (casual)We were = nous étions

Now the future tense, le futur:

you will be = tu seras (casual)we will be = nous serons

That’s just a few examples don’t get overwhelmed or fixated on French conjugation yet, which I admit, is much harder than English conjugation. Now this is not a course on conjugation but pronunciation, so remember all I’m saying here is that the consonant s at the end of a verb is not pronounced. One thing at a time, let’s begin with pronunciation, then in a different course, we’ll learn conjugation.

-

We just answered the first question: where is that consonant s positioned in the word: at the beginning, in the middle, at the end?

Now let’s have a look at the second question: is the consonant s doubled or not? In other words, do we have 1 s or 2?

If your consonant s is doubled as in mousse, then it’s a hard s sound. Every time you see 2 s together you know it’s going to be a hard s. Every time.To make this sound you need your teeth, just like when you say snake.

MOUSSE

And now back to easy straight forward consonants. I’ll give you a little break ;-)

CONSONNE t

t as in TOILETTES = bathroom

This sound is made with your teeth.

TOILETTES

CONSONNE v

v as in VÉLO = bicycle

For this sound you use both your teeth and your lips, lips come pressing against the teeth and you blow.

VÉLO

CONSONNE w

w as in WAGON or as in TWEED = wagon & tweed

You’ve noticed, we have 2 different sounds for w so I will share with you both sounds. By the way we call this letter double v and not double u like it is done in English.

1- w as in WAGON is pronounced exactly like the letter v as in vélo. For this sound you use both your teeth and your lips, lips come pressing against the teeth and you blow.

WAGON

2- w as in tweed is pronounced oue

TWEED

CONSONNE x

x as in TAXI or HEXAGONE or BRUXELLES = taxi, hexagone, Bruxelles

You’ve noticed, we have 3 different sounds for x so I will share them all with you!

1- x as in taxi

That’s actually a combination of 2 consonants: k & sThe first k sound is made from the pressure created between your palate and your tongue pressed together and released. The second s sound requires your teeth, just like when you say snake.

TAXI

2- x as in hexagone

That’s also a combination of 2 consonants: g & zThe first g sound is made from the pressure created between your palate and your tongue pressed together and released. The second sound requires your teeth, just like when you say zebra.

HEXAGONE

FYI, in case you didn’t know, hexagone is France’s nickname!

Why? Because the shape of France ressembles un hexagone with its 6 sides!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Hexagone!

3- x as in Bruxelles

This one is very easy, it is pronounced like a hard s as in snake. With your teeth!

BRUXELLES

FYI you can also say Bruxelles with a x (k+s) as in taxi. Just to confuse you! Both are correct so just pick your favorite ;-)

CONSONNE z

z as in ZOO = zoo

Well this is extra easy! It’s just like zoo! Or zebra! Or zebra in a zoo!With your teeth.

ZOO

Congratulations!!! You have now covered every single letter of the alphabet. First the vowels, then the consonants.

L’ALPHABET

Let’s go through the alphabet together before we move on to the digraphs & trigraphs!

a - cabaret b - bus c - cognac (hard c) & cigarette (soft c) d - document e - retour f - femme g - argument (hard g) & rigide (soft g) h - homme (h muet) & harpe (h aspiré) i - Italie j - journal k - kiosque l - légumes m- métro n - novembre o - novembre & encore p - problème q - question r - rose s - silence (hard s) & rose (soft s) t - toilettes u - utile v - vélo w - wagon & tweed x - taxi, hexagone, Bruxelles y - cygne & yoga z - zoo