The Good News (Yes, There Is Some!)

Here’s the thing: French pronunciation actually follows rules. Real, actual rules! Unlike English, where “ough” can sound like “oh” (though), “uff” (tough), “aw” (thought), “oo” (through), or “off” (cough) depending on what the alphabet gods decided that day, French is remarkably consistent.

Well… mostly consistent. Okay, fine, it’s complicated. But it’s predictably complicated, which is something!

The “One Letter, One Sound” Fantasy

The golden rule of French pronunciation is beautifully simple: one letter equals one sound. Just read each letter, make its sound, string them together, and voilà! You’re basically Parisian already.

Let’s practice with some French city names:

• Albi: A-L-B-I (remember, ‘I’ sounds like ‘ee’). Not too shabby!
• Laval: L-A-V-A-L. Look at you go!
• Colmar: C-O-L-M-A-R. You’re crushing this!

See? Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Or should I say, facile citron pressé.

Plot Twist: Double Consonants Are Lazy

French has a secret: when you see double consonants (like ‘ll’ or ‘nn’), you only pronounce them once. Because apparently, French people couldn’t be bothered to say the same sound twice in a row.

• Lille: That double ‘L’? Just one ‘L’ sound. (Also, that ‘E’ at the end? Silent. We’ll get to that betrayal later.)
• Narbonne: Double ‘N’? Oui, still one sound.
• Arras: Double ‘R’? Again, just one sound, no dramatic rolling required.

It’s like French decided to charge by the syllable and is trying to save money.

The Exceptions (AKA Where Things Get Spicy)

Remember how I said French follows rules? Well, it also follows exceptions to those rules. Many, many exceptions.

The Letter ‘C’ Is Having an Identity Crisis

Normally ‘C’ sounds like ‘K’. But put it before ‘E’, ‘I’, or ‘Y’, and suddenly it thinks it’s an ‘S’.

Take Annecy (a gorgeous Alpine town): It’s not “Anneck-ee,” it’s “Ann-see.” The ‘C’ saw that ‘Y’ coming and panicked.

The Letter ‘G’ Is Also Confused

‘G’ usually sounds like, well, ‘G’. But before ‘E’, ‘I’, or ‘Y’? Now it’s making a ‘J’ sound (the soft French ‘J’, like in “je”).

Giverny (where Monet lived): Not “Give-er-nee,” but “Jee-vair-nee.” The ‘G’ took one look at that ‘I’ and changed its entire personality.

Silent Letters: The Ultimate Betrayal

French is absolutely loaded with silent letters, particularly at the end of words. They’re just hanging out, doing nothing, contributing zero sounds, basically the freeloaders of the alphabet.

And don’t even get me started on the letter ‘H’. It’s always silent in French. Always. It shows up to the party just to stand in the corner and contribute nothing to the conversation.

The Advanced Level: Combo Moves

Sometimes French throws you curveballs like “GUE” where the ‘U’ is silent and just there to tell you “Hey, keep that ‘G’ hard, okay?”

Take La Hague: The ‘H’ is silent (obviously), the ‘U’ is silent (for vibes), and you end up with “La-Ahg.” It’s like a pronunciation escape room.

Or Hunawihr, a German-origin word where the ‘W’ sounds like ‘V’ (because of course it does), giving us “Oo-nah-veer.” Most French people would get this wrong too, so don’t feel bad.

The Bottom Line

Learning French pronunciation is like learning to dance: awkward at first, requires lots of practice, and you’ll definitely step on some toes (or in this case, mispronounce some words). But once you nail those rules and exceptions, you’ll be reading French like you were born in a Parisian café, probably wearing a beret and holding a baguette.

The secret? Take it one letter at a time, watch for the exceptions, and remember that even French people had to learn this stuff. If you want to see how each French sound actually sound check out IPA chart here.

Now go forth and pronounce! Just maybe avoid Tasalassi (that Corsican village where the ‘S’ between vowels sounds like ‘Z’) until you’ve had your morning coffee.

Bonne chance! (That’s “bone shawnce,” by the way. See? You’re learning already!)

Ps: If you liked this article or this video, we made a whole course about French pronunciation and explain how you can sound more French when you speak. 

    Benjamin Respaud