French vowels

A

Letters	Examples
A - like O in cow	🔊 chat 🔊 rat 🔊 patte 🔊 avoir 🔊 papa
À - like O in cow	🔊 au-delà 🔊 voilà 🔊 déjà
Â - like O in cow but can be slightly longer	🔊 mât 🔊 pâte 🔊 âne 🔊 mâle
A - like E in bed when it appears before Y sometimes in the middle of a word but usually at the end of a word	🔊 ayant 🔊 payer 🔊 rayer 🔊 pays

E

Letters	Examples
E - called "open", like E in bed, when it appears in the middle of a word before a double consonant	🔊 belette 🔊 déesse 🔊 liesse
E - "open" before a group of consonants when E is folowed by a consonnant which ends the syllable	🔊 festin 🔊 lecture 🔊 perdrix
E - "open" before the final consonant other than S	🔊 chef 🔊 mec 🔊 miel 🔊 volet
E - called "closed" like E in get, in the middle of the word when E ends the syllable	🔊 descendre 🔊 fluorescent
E - "closed" at the end of the words in endings -er, -ez, -ed when the final consonant is mute	🔊 pionnier 🔊 cavalier 🔊 allez 🔊 pied 🔊 il s'assied
E - called "mute", silent at the end of a word	🔊 base 🔊 cave 🔊 face
E - "mute", silent in Futur Simple and Conditionnel Présent endings after a vowel	🔊 il paiera 🔊 il jouera
E - "mute", silent at the end of a word; weak in the middle of a word and before a single consonant, especially in endings -ement	🔊 gisement 🔊 paiement 🔊 petit 🔊 jeter 🔊 genou
É - "closed", like E in get, always pronounced	🔊 amitié 🔊 éternuer 🔊 mécontent
È - "open" like E in bed, always pronounced	🔊 fidèle 🔊 nièce 🔊 poète 🔊 succès 🔊 très
Ê - "open" like E in bed, always pronounced	🔊 fête 🔊 gêne 🔊 même 🔊 tête
Ë can be: - "open" - "closed" - rarely silent	🔊 Noël 🔊 canoë 🔊 ciguë
E - like O in cow, in adverbs ending in -emment with a double M	🔊 évidemment 🔊 prudemment 🔊 violemment
E - like O in cow, before a double L, M or N in some rare words and their derivatives	🔊 moelle 🔊 femme 🔊 couenne 🔊 solennel
Ê - like O in cow, before L in this single word and its derivatives	🔊 poêle 🔊 poêlon

I

Letters	Examples
I, Î - like E in me, except when preceded by A	🔊 nid 🔊 île
Ï - like E in me	🔊 naïf 🔊 maïs 🔊 païen

O

Letters	Examples
O called "open" - this sound doesn't exist in the standard English but is close enough to O in hot	🔊 bol 🔊 botte 🔊 colle 🔊 pomme 🔊 téléphone
O "closed" - like O in four	🔊 lactose 🔊 lot 🔊 mot 🔊 oser 🔊 rose
Ô "closed" - like O in four	🔊 côte 🔊 impôt 🔊 rôle 🔊 tôt 🔊 trône

U

Letters	Examples
U, Û like saying OO and E at the sime time, the tip of the tongue must advance towards the upper teeth	🔊 butte 🔊 fût 🔊 voiture 🔊 mûre
U silent most of the time after G, Q	🔊 mangue 🔊 guépard 🔊 question 🔊 chèque
U like W in these rare cases	🔊 aquarium 🔊 quartz

Y

Letters	Examples
Y - like Y in monkey, lovely	🔊 acolyte 🔊 azyme 🔊 cytise
Y - like Y in yes before a vowel	🔊 bruyère 🔊 cobaye 🔊 mayonnaise 🔊 payer

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