Pronunciation

How to pronounce the famous letter "R" in French? Why do French speakers write "il y a" but say "y'a"? These tips give you examples to listen to and advice to help you understand French speakers better and improve your pronunciation.

Pronunciation / The sound “u“

A1 Breakthrough

Have you ever tried imitating the way a French person speaks? Have you ever tried imitating sounds that you feel are typically French?
What do you think of French vowels? Are they: awful, normal, rather / really beautiful? You don't know?

Is the difference between:

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dessus and

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dessous

impossible, difficult, easy to hear?

In your opinion, which is the most beautiful vowel?
In your opinion, which vowel is the most awful?

Have you ever observed a French-speaker's lips as they speak?

The [y] is a typical French vowel: you pronounce it by pursing your lips, as if you were blowing the candles out on a birthday cake. Many French sounds are pronounced at the front of the mouth, lips rounded and pursed, and your tongue curled.

The sounds

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[y] "tu",

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[ø] "deux",

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[œ] "neuf",

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in [R] "trois" are pronounced from the front of the mouth.

Some people, while learning French, find that it seems to be pronounced as if you were blowing kisses.

The sound [y] is almost always written "u".

You can hear it in the following onomatopoeias:

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"zut !"

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"chut !"

Practise!
The sound [y] is a taut, sharp, and labial sound.
You can practise pronouncing the [y] by sounding out the consonants that are pronounced using the same area of the mouth:

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ys -∫y – sys

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yt – ty – syt

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y∫ - ∫y - sy∫

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tys - ∫ys – zys

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tyt - ∫yt – zyt

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ty∫ - ∫y∫ - zy∫

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tyz - ∫yz – zyz

If you tend to pronounce

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[u], think of the sound

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[i], when you want to say

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[y].

It's also easier to pronounce [y] using rising intonation, like when you ask a question in French using intonation.
You can imitate the examples:
- when repeating the example, try saying it fast and slowly, yelling and whispering it.
- try repeating in time with the example, as precisely as possible.

Exercices de mise en pratique

Pronunciation: the "u" sound

A1

6 exercises

Listen • Pronunciation (Sons / Voyelles - i, u, o...)