French Pronunciation

Like that of English, and unlike almost all the other Romance languages, French spelling is not very phonetic. The same letter used in two different words can make two different sounds, and many letters are not pronounced at all. The good news, though, is that French generally has more regular pronunciation rules than English. This means that with sufficient practice, one can generally pronounce written French fairly accurately. However, the large number of homophones and silent letters make it such that attempting to write down spoken French often results in spelling mistakes, even for native speakers.

One thing to note is that final consonants of a word are usually dropped: allez (go) is pronounced ahl-AY, not ahl-AYZ; tard (late) is pronounce tar, not tard. But if the next word begins with a vowel, the consonant may be pronounced; this is called liaison. A final 'e' is also usually silent if the word has more than one syllable, except in parts of southern France, especially Toulouse.

Stress is fairly even in French, but the stress almost always falls on the last syllable.

For many French words, it is impossible to write something which, when pronounced as English, sounds like the French word. Use the transliteration as a guide to liaison and the French spelling to pronounce the vowels.

Vowels

Vowels in French can have accent marks, which generally have no noticeable impact on pronunciation, but they often distinguish between homophones in writing (ou, meaning or, and où, meaning where, are pronounced the same). The only really important one is é, which is always pronounced "ay", and changes the meaning of the word.

a, à, â: like "a" in "father" ; (IPA: a)
e: in most cases a central neutral vowel ("schwa") like "a" in "about", sometimes not pronounced at all, sometimes like "é" or "è"
é, è, ê, ai, -er, -es, -ez: é is similar to "ay" in "day" (IPA: e) but shorter, and è and ê are more nasal, like the e in "set" (IPA: ɛ).
i, î: like "ee" in "see" but shorter and tenser
o, ô, au, eau: generally like "oa" in "boat" but never with a "w" sound at the end
u, ù: like a very tight, frontal "oo" sound (purse your lips as if to say "oo" as in "soon" but try to say "ee") - uu in transcriptions
ou: like "oo" in "food", but a pure vowel
y: like "ee" in "see" ; also sometimes used as a consonant, pronounced the same as in English (in 'yes' for example).
eu: between "ew" in "dew" and "ur" in "burp"; written eu in transcriptions

Semi-vowels

oi: like "wa" in "walk"
oui: like "wee" in "week"
ui: like "wee" in "week", but with a French u instead of the w
œ: a bit like "eu" but more "open". The distinction between œ and "eu" is very subtle and often irrelevant.

Consonants

Note: Most final consonants are silent except for c, q, f, l, and r (except in the combination "-er", normally found in verb infinitives). Sometimes, final consonants that are normally silent would be pronounced if followed by a word which starts with a vowel, a phenomenon known as liaison (eg. mes amis would be pronounced MEH-ZAH-MI). Note that the plural ending "-ent" for verbs is never pronounced, though it is pronounced in other words.

b: like "b" in "bed" (IPA: b)
c: like "k" in "kill" (before "a", "o", and "u" or before a consonant), like "s" in "sun" (before "e", "i", and "y") (IPA: k)
ç: like "s" in "sun" (this letter can only be written before "a" ,"o", or "u") (IPA: s)
d: like "d" in "death" (but a bit heavier than in English, and pronounced on the tongue) (IPA: d)
dj: like "j" as in "jump", but this digraph is pretty rare. (IPA: d͡ʒ)
f: like "f" in "fun" (IPA: f)
g: like "g" in "go" (before "a", "o", and "u" or before a consonant) (IPA: ɡ), like "g" in "sabotage" (before "e", "i" and "y"). (IPA: ʒ)
gu: like "g" in "goose" (before "e", "i", "y"); if the u is to be pronounced, it will be written with a diaresis (eg. aigüe)
gn: like "ny" in "canyon". This is particularly difficult when followed by oi, as in baignoire (beh-NYWAR) "bathtub". (IPA: ɲ)
h: silent, but may sometimes prevent a liaison with the former word
j: like "g" in "sabotage" (IPA: ʒ)
k: like "k" in "kill" (only used for loanwords) (IPA: k)
l, ll: like "l" in "like" (IPA: l); some exceptions for "ll" in the combination "ille" (pronounced ee-yuh)
m: like "m" in "me" (IPA: m)
n: like "n" in "nurse" (but see Nasals below)
p: like "p" in "spill" (unaspirated like the t)
ph: like "f" in "fun" and like "ph" in "Philadelphia" (IPA: f)
q(u): most of the time like "k" in "kill" (not like "qu" in "quick"); in some words like "qu" in "quick" (generally before an "a") or the same but with a French u (generally before an "i")
r: guttural; kind of like coughing up a hairball (similar to a German "ch") (IPA: ʁ)
s: like "s" in "sun" (IPA: s); like "z" in "zero" (between two vowels)
ch: like "sh" in "bush" (IPA: ʃ); sometimes like "k" in "kill" (in words of Greek origin mostly)
t, th: like "t" in "take" (never like "th" as in "the" or the "th" in "thin") (unaspirated, it should sound dry and on the tongue, like that of a Spanish speaker)
tch: like "ch" as in chat, but this digraph is very rare. (IPA: t͡ʃ)
v: like "v" in "value" (IPA: v)
w: only in foreign words, mostly like "w" in "wise" and sometimes like "v" in "value" (in particular, "wagon" is "vagon" and "WC" is "VC"!)
x: either ks (like "x" in "exit") or gz
z: like "z" in "zero"

Nasals

an, en, em: nasal a (not always pronounced as a nasal, especially if the n or m is doubled: emmental is pronounced as a normal "emm" sound) (IPA: ɑ̃)
on: nasal o - distinguishing between this and "an" is tricky, it's a deeper, more closed sound (IPA: ɔ̃)
in, ain: nasal è (IPA: ɛ̃)
un: nasal eu (sometimes pronounced the same as 'in') (IPA: œ̃)
oin: nasal "wè" (thus, coin is a nasalised "cwè")

Diphthongs

ail: like "i" in "fight"
ill: either literally, or like "y" in "three years", with some exceptions (ville is veel, fille is fiy)

Exceptions

When there is an accent mark on "e", it prevents diphthongs. Letters should be pronounced separately, following the rule for the accented letter. Example: énergumène, (rowdy character), réunion (meeting).
A diaeresis (") may also be used to prevent diphthongs on "e", "u" and "i". Example: maïs (Indian corn or maize).
In the combinations "gue" and "gui", the "u" should not be pronounced: it is there only to force the prononciation of "g" as in "go". If the "u" is pronounced, a diaeresis is added on the 2nd vowel in older texts (eg. aiguë (sharp)), or on the u in official texts after 1990 (eg. aigüe).
In the combination "geo", the "e" should not be pronounced, it is only there to force the prononciation of "g" as in "sabotage" (in the case the "e" should be pronounced, it is indicated with an accent mark as in géologie).

French Language