Pronunciation

✅ How to pronounce [u]

Mouth: Almost closed

Tongue: High and back

Lips: Strongly rounded

Voice: Voiced

👉 This is a tight, focused “oo” sound

✅ Spelling patterns in French

[u] can be written as:

• ou, où, oû → loup[lu], où[u], goût[gu]

字母组合 ou où oû发这个音,例如:nous [nu]、où [u] goût [gu]。

🎧 Comparison with English

• Similar to:

• “oo” in food, too

BUT ⚠️:

• English often has a glide → [uw]

• French [u] is pure and steady → no movement

⚠️ Common mistakes

• ❌ Don’t let it become [ʊ] (like “book”)

• ❌ Don’t add a glide (no “uw”)

• ✅ Keep it tense and stable

Pronunciation

✅ How to pronounce [o]

Mouth: Mid-close (not fully open)

Tongue: Back, but not as high as [u]

Lips: Rounded (but slightly less tight than [u])

Voice: Voiced

👉 Position is:

• lower than [u]

• more closed than [ɔ]

✅ Spelling patterns in French

[o] can be written as:

• ô → hôtel[otεl]

• au → jaune[ʒon]

• eau → cadeau[kado]

• o in open syllables at the end of words → mot[mo]

• o in front of the [z] sound → chose[ʃoz]

🎧 Comparison with English

• Similar to:

• “o” in go

BUT ⚠️:

• English “go” = [goʊ] (with glide)

• French [o] = pure [o] (no “ʊ” at the end)

⚠️ Common mistakes

• ❌ Don’t say [oʊ]

• ❌ Don’t make it too open (that becomes [ɔ])

• ✅ Keep it stable and rounded

Pronunciation

✅ How to pronounce [ɔ]

Mouth: More open than [o]

Tongue: Back, but lower than [o]

Lips: Rounded (a bit more relaxed than [o])

Voice: Voiced

👉 Think of it as:

• a more open, relaxed version of [o]

✅ Spelling patterns in French

[ɔ] can be written as:

• o → chocolat[ʃɔkɔla]

• o in closed syllables except for the [z] sound → or[ɔr]

• au in a few words → laurier[lɔrje]

🎧 Comparison with English

• Similar to:

• “aw” in thought, law (in many accents)

BUT ⚠️:

• English pronunciation varies by accent

• French [ɔ] is pure and stable

⚠️ Common mistakes

• ❌ Don’t make it too closed → becomes [o]

• ❌ Don’t remove rounding → must stay rounded

• ✅ Keep it open + rounded

Pronunciation

✅ How to pronounce [ɔ̃]

Think of it as:

👉 [ɔ] + nasal airflow

Step-by-step:

Tongue: Back and mid-low (like [ɔ], “open o”)

Mouth: Open-mid

Lips: Rounded

Soft palate: Lowered → air flows through the nose

Voice: Voiced

✅ Spelling patterns in French

[ɔ̃] can be written as:

• on, om → bon[bɔ̃], garçon[gaʁsɔ̃], nom[nɔ̃], pompe[pɔ̃p]

• stion at the end of a word → question[kɛstjɔ̃], gestion[ʒɛstjɔ̃]

• tion at the end of a word → notion[nɔsjɔ̃], punition[pynisjɔ̃]

🎧 How to build it

1. Say “aw” (like thought) → [ɔ]

2. Let air pass through your nose

→ [ɔ̃]

⚠️ Common mistakes

• ❌ Don’t say [on] (with a clear “n”)

• ❌ Don’t say [õ] (too closed)

• ❌ Don’t remove rounding

✅ It must be:

• open

• rounded

• nasal (no final consonant)

Pronunciation

✅ How to pronounce [ɑ̃]

Think of it as:

👉 [a] (or [ɑ]) + nasal airflow

Step-by-step:

Tongue: Low (open), slightly back or central

Mouth: Open wide

Lips: Relaxed (not rounded)

Soft palate: Lowered → air flows through the nose

Voice: Voiced

✅ Spelling patterns in French

[ɑ̃] can be written as:

• an, am → an[ɑ̃], banque[bɑ̃k], lampe[lɑ̃p], chambre[ʃɑ̃br]

• en, em → entrer[ɑ̃tre], cent[sɑ̃], temps[tɑ̃], membre[mɑ̃br]

🎧 How to build it

1. Say “ah” [a]

2. Let air pass through your nose

→ [ɑ̃]

⚠️ Common mistakes

• ❌ Don’t say [an] (with a clear “n”)

• ❌ Don’t round lips (not like [ɔ̃])

• ❌ Don’t close the mouth too much

✅ Keep it:

• open

• nasal

• unrounded

Pronunciation

✅ How to pronounce [ɑ]

Mouth: Open wide (like [a])

Tongue: Low and pulled back

Lips: Relaxed (not rounded)

Voice: Voiced

✅ Spelling patterns in French

[ɑ] can be written as:

• â → pâte[pɑt]

👉 Compared to [a]:

• [a] = more front

• [ɑ] = more back (deeper sound)

🎧 Comparison with English

• Very similar to:

• “a” in father [fɑːðər]

✅ This is a good reference sound

⚠️ Important note (VERY important)

👉 In modern French, the distinction between [a] and [ɑ] is mostly disappearing

• Many speakers pronounce both as [a]

• The difference is:

• traditional / formal / some regions