Every distinct sound in French, grouped by family. Tap the speaker on a phoneme to hear it pronounced inside its headline word, then tap any of the three demonstrator words below it to hear the same sound in a different context.
The French alphabet
Tap any letter to hear how it is named when spelling words aloud in French.
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- X
- Y
- Z
Vowels
Oral vowels
-
/i/
Letters: i
- ici
- vite
- livre
-
/e/
Letters: e
- été
- bébé
- clé
-
/ɛ/
Letters: ɛ
- mère
- père
- belle
-
/a/
Letters: a
- papa
- table
- sac
-
/ɑ/
Letters: ɑ
- pâte
- âme
- âne
-
/o/
Letters: o
- eau
- mot
- rose
-
/ɔ/
Letters: ɔ
- porte
- robe
- pomme
-
/u/
Letters: u
- tout
- rouge
- jour
-
/y/
Letters: y
- tu
- lune
- rue
-
/ø/
Letters: ø
- feu
- jeu
- peu
-
/œ/
Letters: œ
- sœur
- peur
- cœur
-
/ə/
Letters: e (mute/unstressed, e.g. le, demain, je)
- le
- je
- demain
Nasal vowels
-
/ɑ̃/
Letters: ɑ̃
- sans
- dans
- grand
-
/ɛ̃/
Letters: ɛ̃
- pain
- main
- vin
-
/œ̃/
Letters: œ̃
- un
- parfum
- brun
-
/ɔ̃/
Letters: ɔ̃
- nom
- non
- bon
Consonants
Plosives
-
/p/
Letters: p
- papa
- porte
- pain
-
/b/
Letters: b
- beau
- bateau
- robe
-
/t/
Letters: t
- table
- taxi
- tomate
-
/d/
Letters: d
- deux
- dame
- dire
-
/k/
Letters: k
- kilo
- kiwi
- kayak
-
/g/
Letters: g
- gare
- gomme
- gâteau
Fricatives
-
/f/
Letters: f
- faim
- fort
- fête
-
/v/
Letters: v
- vite
- ville
- verre
-
/s/
Letters: s
- sac
- soleil
- soupe
-
/z/
Letters: z
- zéro
- rose
- douze
-
/ʃ/
Letters: ʃ
- chat
- chaud
- chercher
-
/ʒ/
Letters: ʒ
- jour
- jambe
- jouer
Nasals
-
/m/
Letters: m
- maman
- maison
- ami
-
/n/
Letters: n
- nez
- nuit
- donner
-
/ɲ/
Letters: ɲ
- montagne
- mignon
- peigner
-
/ŋ/
Letters: ŋ
- camping
- parking
- shampooing
Liquids
-
/l/
Letters: l
- lune
- livre
- salade
-
/ʁ/
Letters: ʁ
- rue
- rose
- rouge
Semivowels
-
/j/
Letters: y, i (before vowel), ill (e.g. yeux, pied, fille)
- yeux
- pied
- fille
-
/ɥ/
Letters: ɥ
- huit
- huile
- nuit
-
/w/
Letters: ou (e.g. oui), oi (e.g. moi)
- oui
- moi
- jouer
Play SmartWords games
Six word games built around our real vocabulary — free in the browser, no install.
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Word Sling
Match the center word under time pressure and keep the combo alive.
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Word Gate
Fly through the correct gate before the speed ramps up.
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Word Ninja
Slice the goal-language words, avoid the main-language decoy, and chase the announced bonus target.
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Word Zip
Trace a single path across the board, hit each letter anchor in order, and fill every open cell.
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Word Oddity
Pick the word that doesn't belong from a topic-driven set — every tap reveals all four meanings and images so the round becomes a flash-card too.
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Word Memory
Flip and match goal-language words to their main-language meaning before your lives run out.
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