Prononciation & Liaison — the French sound rules | Grammar
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The sound rules — with audio for every example. This guide explains Prononciation et Liaison in French with clear rules, real examples and practice for every CEFR level. For instance: « avec, bonjour, neuf, hôtel » — -er verbs : parler → “parlé”.
Prononciation et Liaison
The sound rules — with audio for every example
1. Les consonnes finales muettes
| Règle | Exemples | Exception |
|---|---|---|
| final consonant = silent | Pari(s), peti(t), beaucou(p), gran(d) | — |
| CaReFuL : C, R, F, L se prononcent | avec, bonjour, neuf, hôtel | -er verbs : parler → “parlé” |
2. Les voyelles nasales
| Son | S’écrit | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| [ɑ̃] | an, en, am, em | grand, enfant, temps |
| [ɔ̃] | on, om | bonjour, nom |
| [ɛ̃] | in, ain, ein, un | vin, pain, lundi |
3. La liaison
| Type | Exemple | Se prononce |
|---|---|---|
| obligatoire : article + nom | les_amis | lé-za-mi |
| obligatoire : pronom + verbe | vous_avez | vou-za-vé |
| obligatoire : adj + nom | petit_ami | peu-ti-ta-mi |
| interdite : après « et » | et ‖ aussi | never “é-taussi” |
| interdite : avant h aspiré | les ‖ héros | lé éro (not lé-zéro !) |
4. Les sons pièges
| Paire | Différence | Exemples |
|---|---|---|
| u vs ou | lips forward+tight vs relaxed | tu (you) vs tout (all) |
| é vs è | closed (smile) vs open | parlé vs père |
| le R | from the throat, soft gargle | rue, Paris, très |
💡 Comment progresser
Every sentence on this site has a 🔊 button — press it, listen, repeat OUT LOUD. Your ear teaches your mouth.
Liaison sounds like one long word : « vous avez un ami » → vou-za-vé-zun-na-mi. French flows ; don’t chop it.
When in doubt about a final consonant : silence it (except CaReFuL).
📚 Free French lessons at learnfrench.co
New — compare the accents: every example sentence now has TWO buttons. The blue 🔊 plays the French voice; the small dashed EN? button reads the same sentence with a typical English-speaker accent — so you can hear exactly what to avoid. Listen to the mistake, then copy the French. That contrast is how your ear learns fastest.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Final letters of « Paris » and « petit » : pronounced ? (silent rule)
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No — silent
Which final consonants ARE pronounced ? (the word trick)
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C, R, F, L (CaReFuL)
« les amis » se prononce… (liaison)
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lé-za-mi
Liaison after « et » ? (forbidden!)
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Never
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🎯 More practice — translation — put it into French
Translate into French: « You have friends in Paris. (3 liaisons!) » (translation)
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Vous avez des amis à Paris.
Translate into French: « A big kid and a little friend. » (translation)
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Un grand enfant et un petit ami.
Translate into French: « The white wine is very good. (nasals!) » (translation)
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Le vin blanc est très bon.
Translate into French: « Did you see everything? (u vs ou) » (translation)
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Tu as tout vu ?
Go further: get the full picture in our guide A beginner’s guide to French pronunciation.
Prononciation et Liaison in French — FAQ
How do you use Prononciation et Liaison in French?
The sound rules — with audio for every example. Follow the rules and patterns in the lesson above, and practise with real sentences like « avec, bonjour, neuf, hôtel » (-er verbs : parler → “parlé”).
Can you give an example of Prononciation et Liaison in French?
Yes — « avec, bonjour, neuf, hôtel » means « -er verbs : parler → “parlé” », and « an, en, am, em » means « grand, enfant, temps ». The lesson above has many more examples with explanations.
What CEFR level is Prononciation et Liaison?
This topic is introduced around A1 and refined at higher levels — pick your level from the links at the top of the page. You can also drill it with the interactive exercises and games below.
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🎬 The 20-second version
4 quick questions on « Prononciation & Liaison » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →