Consonants
| IPA |
Examples |
English approximation
|
| b
|
bon
|
about
|
| d
|
deux, grande, Djibouti
|
today
|
| f
|
faire, vif
|
festival
|
| ɡ
|
garçon, longue
|
again
|
| k
|
corps, avec, quand, Irak
|
sky
|
| l
|
laisser, possible, seul, ville
|
law
|
| m
|
même
|
moo
|
| n
|
nous, bonne
|
no
|
| ɲ
|
gagner, champagne[1]
|
canyon
|
| ŋ
|
camping, funk[2]
|
camping
|
| p
|
père, groupe
|
spy
|
| ʁ
|
regarder, nôtre[3]
|
Scottish English loch, but voiced; Northumbrian burr
|
| s
|
sans, ça, assez, soixante, six
|
sir
|
| ʃ
|
chance, tchèque
|
shoe
|
| t
|
tout, thé, tchèque
|
sty
|
| v
|
vous, wagon, neuf heures
|
vein
|
| z
|
zéro, raison, chose, deuxième
|
zeal
|
| ʒ
|
jamais, visage, Djibouti
|
measure
|
| Semivowels
|
| j
|
fief, payer, fille, travail, hier
|
yet
|
| w
|
oui, loi, moyen, web, whisky
|
wet
|
| ɥ
|
huit, Puy
|
between wet and yet
|
|
Vowels
| Oral vowels
|
| IPA |
Examples |
English approximation
|
| a
|
patte, là, femme
|
trap
|
| ɑ
|
pâte, glas[4]
|
father
|
| e
|
clé, et, les, chez, aller, pied, journée
|
mace
|
| ɛ
|
baie, faite, mettre, renne, crème, peine, violet
|
best
|
| ɛː
|
fête, maître, reine, reître, caisse, presse, Levesque[4]
|
fairy
|
| ə
|
reposer, monsieur, faisons[5]
|
again (often elided, see e muet)
|
| i
|
si, île, régie, pays, fils[6]
|
seat
|
| œ
|
sœur, jeune, club (Europe)
|
bird (RP)
|
| ø
|
ceux, jeûner, queue
|
burn (RP)
|
| o
|
saut, haut, bureau, chose, tôt, cône
|
story
|
| ɔ
|
sort, minimum, pomme
|
off
|
| u
|
coup, roue[6]
|
pool
|
| y
|
tu, sûr, rue[6]
|
roughly like too in some dialects such as Australian;[7] in other dialects, somewhat like cute; German über
|
| Nasal vowels
|
| ɑ̃
|
sans, champ, vent, temps, Jean, taon
|
roughly like song; nasalized [ɒ] (Europe) or [a] (Canada)
|
| ɛ̃
|
vin, impair, pain, daim, plein, Reims, synthèse, sympathique, bien
|
roughly like hang; nasalized [æ] (Europe) or [ei̯] (Canada)
|
| œ̃
|
un, parfum[4]
|
roughly like non-rhotic burn; nasalized [œ]
|
| ɔ̃
|
son, nom
|
roughly like drawn (Australian); nasalized [o] (France) or [ou̯] (Canada)
|
|