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:

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

dessus and

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

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

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

[y] "tu",

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

[ø] "deux",

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

[œ] "neuf",

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

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:

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

"zut !"

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

"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:

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

ys -∫y – sys

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

yt – ty – syt

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

y∫ - ∫y - sy∫

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

tys - ∫ys – zys

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

tyt - ∫yt – zyt

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

ty∫ - ∫y∫ - zy∫

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

tyz - ∫yz – zyz

If you tend to pronounce

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

[u], think of the sound

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

[i], when you want to say

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version.

[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.

Practical exercises

Pronunciation: the "u" sound

A1

6 exercises

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