French Pronunciation Practice (with a REAL French speaker)
"What's the deal with French pronunciation? Why is it so hard to grasp?!" If you've ever asked yourself these questions, please know that you're not alone. Certain words and sounds are notoriously hard to pronounce in French, even though they're quite common!
0:00 - Practice French Pronunciation
0:41 - Le "r"
2:37 - Nasal sounds "an", "on", "in"
5:48 - French "u"
7:55 - Silent Letters
9:34 - La liaison
11:33 - Le "e'
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At Comme une Française, we specialize in everyday spoken French. We focus on three unique aspects that are different from school French, self-study books, Duolingo, etc:
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😘 from Grenoble, France.
Géraldine
To remember the C, R, F and L endings, use the english word "CaReFuL", throw away the vowels and you have the CRFL consonants, some people call the this "careful" consonants
Great tip! Merci!
There's a phrase a learned years ago to practice those difficult nasal sounds (and I go back and repeat it often): "Un bon vin blanc". I exaggerate the sounds when I practice (tout seul!) and it seems to help. Not saying I get it right all the time but it seems to, at least, help me hear some of the subtle differences. Just throwing it out there....
You’re right. That sentence has the 4 nasal vowels: an, on, in, un.
i work in a bakery in paris as a vendeuse and apparently the U sound is the most difficult for me - and the one that leads to many funny mistakes. when i say formule (formule déjeuner) they (my coworkers) think of mules (animal) because of how i pronounce the U. also when i say jus they think of joue. many many words have the same pronounciation (or a very subtle difference to a foreigner) which lead to very difficult situations, like entière (comme une brioche entière) and un tiers (un tiers de la brioche, on vend a la coupe). so it is not just funny or a matter of accent, it makes a difference to comprehension. it is so hard!
> wow, yeah, that's a tough one! I struggle a lot with dessus / desous - I can pronounce them OK, but I have to think first before I say them! And hearing them is harder.
The sound "en" and "un" can sound similar for an English speaker. Did you try pronuncing these sounds with words you already pronounce perfectly? ex: un / vin / main en / enfant/ maman/ parent
Les nasales. At school (a million years ago), to practice the nasals sounds in French, we were encouraged to repeat 'un bon vin blanc'. The waiter at an hotel on a visit to France (before Covid) did not react to my request other than 'd'accord'.
I've been taking/speaking French since 7th grade, and I thinking being from Baltimore makes the 'u' quite easy. We pronounce most of our u/ou words like that and other americans make fun of us for it. Interestingly, a large number of French people came here fleeing the Haitian Revolution, and I wonder if that impacted how we speak.
Same situation. Started learning French in 7th grade. Teacher was American, then had French/Russian teacher raised in Paris & Quebec. Progressed to other teachers from Mozambique, Montpelier, Paris, Epernay, Montreal, Switzerland, Italy and Morocco. My accent per French colleagues is academic. Uber driver in southern France told me I sound like a British person who spent study year abroad in France. 🤷♀️
Bonjour! Mrs Bullock of Western High School was an amazing French teacher. I am so grateful to her. Although I never picked up a Baltimore accent, I do agree with you. Go, Ravens!
For someone like me who grew up speaking Canadian French, I have a hard time with pronouncing “main,” “Alain” and “pain” without making a hard nasal honk sound as opposed to a breathy sound like Geraldine.
Those r’s are so hard for me as a Spanish speaker!!
When pronouncing a word ending in an "n" in English, we finish with the tongue against the aveolar ridge behind the upper teeth. This is true even though the ending is partially nasalized (e.g., Don, din, plan, etc.). When pronouncing a nasalized syllable in French, the tip of the tongue lies flat behind the bottom teeth.
As always you are clear and very helpful.Thank you.
Love your lessons I find it hard , but is trying with practice. Merci Geraldine!
the fact that you added songs to this ahhh....... marvellous!!!!
Thank you for this! Very helpful!
Really love Geraldine's approach in teaching French. She makes it accessible and clear, but also fun and funny. One of the attributes that make French attractive, are vocal sounds one makes when speaking it. There are nasal intonations which I find elegant and nuanced. French sounds pleasant to the ear. Not only to those who hear it, but the ones who are doing the speaking. Which is why I enjoy reading French out loud.
brilliant video explained so well in a simple manner merci:)
Learning this for fun but this video is actually really helpful and easy explaining as well 😮💜💜
Absolutely fantastic resource. Merci
J’adore ton accent français et la façon dont tu dis « good » à la fin de tes exercices parlés.
I ve learnt so much ...thankuou fir the pronunciations ...I needed it most ....hats off to you. You teach very well .
This is the best!!! Very most helpful.
Thank you, Geraldine! You're an excellent teacher! My native language is Spanish (from Argentina) and the most difficult french sound for me is the "r". Thanks for your tips! I'll keep practicing 👍💪
Very helpful. Thank you!
I cant thank you enough for this !!! Thank you sooooooooooo much Madame!!🌟❤
Unfortunately, my high school French teacher incorrectly taught us how to pronounce many sounds and words, particularly when it came to the nasal sounds. I discovered much later that I had no idea how to properly pronounce words with "in" (such as lapin and moulin) and "en" (such as rien and mien). I'm happy I found this channel. It will help enormously as I prepare for a trip to Europe next spring.
Thank you, this is wonderful 💕
Wonderful 👍👍👍👍 Thank you for explaining the pronunciation!!!!!!🌸🌸🌸🌸
Thank you, I practiced with you. Finally got it on the nasals. Maybe the r ‘s too! Bon! Merci!🇫🇷🇺🇸
Thank you for this great video Géraldine! I have learnt such much with your two French pronunciation videos. It will be highly appreciated if you can provide us with more French pronunciation videos, svp!
Which sounds do you find most difficult to pronounce in French?
J'aime votre explication. Super prof!
Bonjour, i love the lessons - you put a lot in quickly. It’s hard to repeat it sometimes unless I attack the pause button. It’d be great to slow down just a few seconds in between. Otherwise, thanks again for another great lesson. Have a great day 😊😊
I've always been intimidated by the French, because of the pronunciation. Finally I gathered some courage to learn something in French and your videos will help me a lot. Merci beaucoup!
This helps so much! Merci!
Glad it helps, Dee!
Merci, Géraldine, this is your best yet! A pronunciation tip that really helped me was, concerning those silent consonants, if you think them without speaking them, your mouth will do what it ought to help the sound come out as it should...theoretically ;0)
Lovely video Geraldine 🙏
Merci beaucoup pour le leçons
You're a good friend and a great teacher, just wanted let you know:)
I recently made a new French friend and want to brush up on my high school French so she doesn't have to speak English all the time. Your videos are amazing, the best channel I have found for learning French!
merci beaucoup Geraldine 👍
I subscribed as soon as you played my favorite Edith Piaf song. Merci!
Good brush up!
Hello, Géraldine! I love your French lessons! It's really practical, and somehow you always bring up the linguistic problem/difficulty which I often wonder about. They are very useful lessons! I have a request for another lesson. When I read the (relatively) long sentences, often I'm not sure when to hold a breath/pause. For example, when my French teacher asks me to read a text in the class, I start reading aloud without knowing for sure when to breathe/pause during the sentences. I know that knowing those 'timings' makes a lot of differences in a sound, more natural and fluent like native speakers (because they mutually pause the same e.g. words, timing, etc.). So, I'd totally appreciate it if you can give us a tip (if there is any) to sound more natural and flowy when reading a long sentence. Thank you, Géraldine!
Yes please!!
Salut, je regarder des Philippines. Votre vidéo aide beaucoup ma prononciation. Merci professeur pour le partage. Plus de puissance pour vos vidéos. À bientôt.
Merci beaucoup pour la video!
Very informative
Merci beaucoup 🎉
Merci beaucoup pour ceci! C'est vraiment bon!
Bien : c'est vraiment bien !
@@palupalu5647 Merci! :)
Thank you, Geraldine. I love that your teaching is always so clear, straight to the point, and your enthusiasm is very motivating. xxx
Merci
revenge of the silent letters! loved this
Salut Géraldine, et merci pour une autre excellente vidéo! J'étudie le français depuis septembre, et je commence seulement maintenant à être capable de prononcer le « r » français. Les sons nasaux demandent plus de pratique pour moi. Je vous remercie de votre aide pour ces vidéos !
Merci !!
Très bien!
Merci 😊
This is the most helpful video for pronunciation! I HATE the French 'R'. At least now I understand how to produce it! The nasals aren't so bad.
Bon travail Mme, c'est très utile pour les débutants qui commencent à apprendre la langue française! "Vive la langue française!" Mohamed de l'Inde
ce que je trouve le plus merveilleux, c'est le fait que votre explication soit présentée en mode anglais, j'apprends l'anglais aussi et avec vous c'est fantastique.. merci !
So what's your mother language?
Lads, I have to tell you that the Comeragh mountain district accent in the south of Ireland has a perfect French rolling "Rr'. I grew up listening to and imitating the guys in school who spoke with a perfect French rolling R. I don't know why. We learn from each other throughout our lives.
Merci ❤
I find the u particularly difficult, thankfully the r is easy for Portuguese speakers. Thank you for the videos!
The same for people from Germany (unless they are from Bavaria or a few other areas) as for the "r" pronunciation.
Someone gave me a tip for remembering the pronounced consonants at the end of a word: CaReFuL.
Uhh could u explain?
@@tatjy93 C, R, F and L are usually pronounced at the end of a word.
@@tatjy93 C, R, F and L are usually pronounced at the end of a word.
ou la règle de LuCiFeR
@@phyllobolus ohhhh ok. Thanks for the tip!
Good!
Bonjour Geraldine! Un grand merci pour tous vos efforts pour nous inculquer bien le Français. Je m'amuse toujours en regardant vos vidéos autant que je profite des leçons dedans. Votre aide est indispensable: vous nous rendez un service très utile et important . Moi, j'habite en Angleterre et j'apprends le français depuis quasiment six ans. Au début, je le pratiquais seulement à temps partiel, comme un loisir. Je suis tombe amoureuse de la langue est la culture (et la super série "Lupin'"). Néanmoins, à présent, j'ai juste une seule question qui me gene un peu. On m'a dit, comme vos nenez de dire, qu'on ne prononce pas le "p" au bout du mot "beaucoup". Ok. Pourtant, la semaine dernière, j'ai entendu quelqu'un prononce le "p" au bout du mot "trop". Pouvez-vous m'expliquer quelle est la différence entre les deux mots? Je sais leurs significations, mais pourquoi, parfois, avec le mot "trop", on peut prononce le "p'? Je vous remercie d'avance de me donner des exemples dans votre réponse :)
I believe Canadian French still has a different sound for an and en, am I correct? The older Canadian French still has some differentiations in sound that French-French(!) has now flattened out.
Merci Geraldine I want to study French,but it seems very difficult, anyway will try my best
First start with pronunciation as this is the foundation of your ability to speak. Then, learn basic grammar. Grammar is important. It is the foundation of any language, but it should not overwhelm you or hold you back. Focus on the essential only. After, focus on improving your listening skills in order to get better at understanding spoken language. Learning a language is a marathon, it takes time. I recommend you to study a bit everyday, like 30 minute a day. It will allow you to reach your language goals. 😊
For English speakers, we do have some nasal sounds. Contrast pin, where the tongue makes contact, making an N, and pink, and notice that your tongue does not rise to make an N. To approximate the French "an" try the English word "conquer." For "un," try "uncle." These sounds aren't exactly the same as in French, but they will help you to learn how to make nasal vowels: start to say conquer or uncle but don't continue to the k/c/q sound!
Merci pour les super vidéos ! Quand j'étais en France, un enfant m'a demandé ce que je tricotais. Il avait l'air assez surpris quand j'ai répondu "poule" au lieu de "pull" ! Parfois la prononciation est très importante pour le message ! :-)
Est-ce que vouz avez tricoté un pull pour un poule nu?
Correct pronunciation carries the message..what a different between ordering du poisson vs du poison in a restaurant!
merci!! :)
Been Struggling to master the French "r" because in my case it tends to sound like the dutch "g" or also known as velar everytime I'll attempt to pronounce.
Geraldine ... you are an inspirational teacher! P.S. I like your spikey hair better than the long bangs..
I lke that you explane it in english because even if we are not anglospeakers we can see ur videos
Thank God the "U" sound is the easiest one for Chinese speaker :D
"The revenge of the silent letters." LOL
Géraldine, I’m interested in the « shwa « sound after regrette when you say regrettah rien. Is there a name for this breath release? And anything else you can explain about this. Merci.
VALEU TIA. BRIGADÃO DE CORAÇÃO, PAI APRENDEU UM MONTE AQ. CONTEUDO FODA
Merci pour cette vidéo Géraldine! Pour moi the prononcer les mots avec le 'r' est très diificile. C'est dommage que J'apprends le français depuis 10 dix ans
Discovered this interesting and informative channel at the start of the lockdown during the pandemic. But the one thing that is often mentioned in the videos is "Don't feel stupid, silly, ridiculous, dumb, etc..." This consolation might have a reverse affect on the listener. Personally, when a non-english speaking person speaks to me with not less than perfect English, I don't think he/she is dumb, stupid, sily, or ridiculous, etc. I find it endearing that they go out of their comfort zone and try. So by constantly saying in the videos "Don't feel stupid..." The new listener or learner might develop the opposite reverse feeling of actually feeling stupid, ridiculous, dumb, etc,. because it's often unintentionally suggested in the videos.
I think she's just addressing the tendency of new language learners to feel bad or dumb about making mistakes, by saying that it's OK and that French people understand (they are usually very happy that you are trying to learn their language). French people will often correct you, but even that is OK - French people even correct each other lol. It's just a thing in France. So even if you don't get it quite right, and you get corrected, don't feel bad or dumb, just keep learning and speaking.
I'm struglling learing french as an English speaker
I would recommend you to focus on learning pronunciation and improving your listening skills first, this would help you understand spoken language and make yourself understood when you speak. If you need specific advice, don't hesitate to ask me 😊
Im pretty sure I’ve said « beaucoup » incorrectly a few times 😂 thanks for the clarification!
But as I know in traditional standard French "un" and "in" pronounced differently. In South France it pronounced differently. Many KZheadrs from South and Southwest France pronounce them differently too. Also in Belgium, Switzerland and Québec(Canada) it pronounced differently.
Yes, but that difference is slowly dying off. French phonetics is evolving during our lifetime. In fact, the French standard pronunciation during Edith Piaff's time is a bit different from today's pronunciation. And parisian accent from the 20s and 30s and 40s now only lives in movies and a few very old people. Thus, the Parisian accent also evolved during relatively recent memory. Old version is called "le titi parisien".
@@jose4877 Love this! What does titi mean? I’ll Google it. Oh has “Google “ become a verb in France? In Canada?
Titi means “urchin” like a street kid
@@jose4877 I absolutely agree.. But for my opinion problem isn't in evolution, problem is discrimination of against who don't pronounce "modern parisian accent". As you say in fact many differences died off. Difference of "patte"- "pâte", "maître"-"mettre" "sur"-"sûr", "fait"- "fête" don't existe in fact in France, Belgium, Switzerland. Only in Québec and very old people use them. "Trilled Spanish R" and "R" which was used Édith Piaf and Jacques Brel in fact dead. Only small group of people in South and Southwest France use "in" and "un" differently.
The U is a sound found in Chinese which I have learned so I'm able to say that and hear it.
FRENCH "R" sounds like URDU "غ" so its easy for me!!!
I used to be afraid to say SALUT because I feared I would say SALOPE. Different sounds but I didn't say salut for a long time :)
Can you explane ce qui ce dont etc
Why do you only use 3 nasal vowels? I was always taught there were four.
Can you explain the pronunciation of Les Halles - apparently I've been saying it wrong for decades. Is there any rule about that?
How do *you* pronounce it Jessica? I've always thought it was like /lay zal/. But maybe I've been saying it wrong too. I hate it when people are too polite to correct you so you continue saying it wrong obliviously, only to find out your mistake years later and suffer the cumulative years of embarrassment upon realisation..
@@richardowen1130 Yes, you (and I) have been pronouncing it wrong forever. It is Lay Al. Sounds stupid, but it is correct. I'learned that the hard way - while I was there with a native who wanted us to go to Lay Al.... And then I asked.... BTW, not layal - there's a kind of gutteral stop between the Lay and the Al...
@@jellevant Well, I never! Thanks for the tip. That said, I think there's variation between how a general French native might say how a place name is pronounced and how a native from that area might say it, much as in our own countries. For example, in my school days I went on exchange to the east of France. I was always taught the pronunciation of Chamonix was /Sha mon nee/ whereas they pronounced it /Sha mon neeks/.
@@richardowen1130 I don't think with this one. True in Paris and in SW France which was where I made my faux pas. If there is a part of France that procounces the 'z' though, please let me know and I will add it to my things too hard to rememer!
How do you spell the French word “guiesse” (zzzuhge)?
could I ask, why sometime; J'ai also sounds like Je?. Shouldn't they sound differently? thank you!
Bonjour, I am not sure. If you have an example, I may be able to help out. Fabien, CUF Team
Gerealdine, do not lose your accent when you speak English. It is delicious.
Parlez-vous espagnol aussi?
Is this correct and possibly do you have a video on this: « Je suis désole. Mon français pas de parfait. »
CaReFuL
I like CaReFuL, but I also like LuCiFeR 😈😅
"la derniere lettre est presque toujours muet" cette regle existe aussi pour les noms de personnes?
oui bien sûr, s'il s'agit de noms d'origine française. En revanche, moi mon nom est alsacien, et donc d'origine germanique. Le R final se prononce au contraire de noms typiques comme berger, royer, boulanger, etc. Attention, le R final de noms bretons se prononce aussi comme les noms alsaciens exemple Quimper, Scaër. Attention bis : Le R d'Omer se prononce aussi, car c'est un prénom dérivé d'origine germanique.
I can’t pronounce gloire correctly- help!!!!
Je ne savais pas que Liza Minnelli était française!
I was lucky and was able to learn the r and les nasales easily. The really really tough sound for me is > comme Montreuil, portefeuille, etc. And especially, écureuil - speaking of exceptions, there's a silent L at the end of a word :-) But at least when I mess up écureuil, I know French people have as much trouble pronouncing the English translation "squirrel" lol/mdr
Il y a une erreur dans ce documentaire. En français, les sons "in" et "un" sont différents. Il n'y a pas 3 voyelles nasales mais 4 voyelles nasales : in, un , an, on. D'ailleurs, l'alphabet phonétique distingue les sons "un" ( /œ̃/ ) et "in" ( /ɛ̃/). Beaucoup de français font cette confusion et, par exemple, prononcent le verbe "emprunter" comme s'il s'écrivait "emprinter". Dans la phrase "Un bon vin blanc" que cite Doug Cushman (just below...) , les quatre voyelles nasales sont différentes. Thanks to you, Doug.
En réalité y en a encore plus de sons nasaux. c'est à cause des accents régionaux qui changent le son, ca pose problème. le mélange des accents fusionne certains sons nasaux. Au final ont peut distingué clairement que 3 qui ne ce chevauche pas entre les interlocuteurs francophones du monde.
Pourtant un et vin je le prononce exactement de la même façon, ça doit dépendre des régions.
@@sandrine525 Dans certaines régions, en effet, l'erreur que je cite est courante. Tout de même, il me semble que si "in" et "un" se prononçaient de la même manière, leurs prononciations ne feraient pas l'objet de graphèmes différents dans l'alphabet pronétique. Dans certains cas, l'erreur de prononciation qui affecte le son "un" est particulièrement cruel pour l'oreille. Per exemple, le mot "parfum" prononcé "parfin" ou "jungle" prononcé "jingle".
@@MrFeuerbach je ne vois pas comment ces mots peuvent se prononcer autrement je l’avoue. . Je les prononce ainsi et ai toujours entendu cette prononciation, jungle et jingle sont exactement la même chose
She resembles Liza Minnelli!
2:38 These are not hard for the people who speak Hindi (Like me), as nasals are already a part of hindi 😊
So sweet of you .. You look like "bonbon" 😍
French pronunciation is full of mystery there are lots of words which are not pronounced at the end n there are many combination of words that makes completely different pronunciation n here is nasal sound their exception rules I m dead 💀
Marie est mariée à un marin.