Pronunciation / The sound [ɑ̃] - "an"

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In French, there are nasal vowels :
[ɛ̃] as in
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“ à demain ! ”
[ɑ̃] as in
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“ vraiment ! ”
[õ] as in
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“ c’est bon ! ”

To pronounce vowels, air always goes through the mouth.
To pronounce vowels, air always goes through the mouth and through the nose :
 

How to pronounce the sound [ɑ̃] in four steps ?
The sound
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[ɑ̃] is the nasal equivalent of
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[ɑ], a low-pitched sound, as if it was coming from the center of the body, where the plexus is located.
1. Relax and yawn deeply, like a happy baby .
 

2. Yawn once again and say “ aaaaaaaaaaa ”.
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3. Repeat and let some air pass through your nose. Feel the air vibrate in your nostrils.

4. Congratulation, you made the sound[ɑ̃] !

The sound [ɑ̃] is usually written :
  • "an” : santé, hanche
  • "en : accident, dent, médicament, ventre, rendez-vous, urgence
  • “ am ” + b/p : jambe, chambre
  • “ em ” + b/p : exemple

Let’s Practice !

To help you :
Your must lower your voice. You can make a hand gesture downwards to help you.
The sound
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[ɑ̃] is the nasal equivalent of
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[ɑ], a very low-pitched sound.
You can put your hand on your nose and the other on you stomach to feel the sound resonate in these parts of your body.
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je mange
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tu penses
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descendre
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maman
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vraiment
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accident

Practical exercises

Pronunciation: the sound [ɑ̃] - “an”

A1
5 exercises
Look • Pronunciation (sounds / nasal - in, an, on)