French phonetics and spellings for SINGERS

This is not an exhaustive list and there are many exceptions in the French spellings but this may be a useful tool for singers aiming at remembering spellings in order to speed up their preparation.

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  • Created by: FDDH
  • Created on: 25-04-20 18:42
i
[i] midi [midi] - noon
1 of 65
- ie (word ending)
[i] vie [vi] - life
2 of 65
y
[i] lys [lis] - lily
3 of 65
é (accent aigu)
[e] été [ete] - Summer
4 of 65
- ai (verb ending)
[e] j'ai [ʒe] - I have
5 of 65
- er (verb ending)
[e] chanter [ʃɑ̃te] - to sing
6 of 65
- ez (verb ending)
[e] vous chantez [vu ʃɑ̃te] - you sing
7 of 65
et (meaning "and")
[e]
8 of 65
è (accent grave)
[ɛ] mère [mɛr] - mother
9 of 65
ê (accent circonflexe)
[ɛ] fenêtre [fœnɛtr] - window
10 of 65
ë (tréma)
[ɛ] Noël [nɔɛl] - Christmas
11 of 65
ei
[ɛ] neige [nɛʒ] - snow
12 of 65
- ais (verb ending)
[ɛ] je chanterais [ʒœ ʃɑ̃trɛ] - I would sing
13 of 65
- ait (verb ending)
[ɛ] elle chantait [ɛl ʃɑ̃tɛ] - she was singing
14 of 65
- aient (verb ending)
[ɛ] ils chantaient [il ʃɑ̃tɛ] - they were singing
15 of 65
est (meaning "is")
[ɛ] elle est [ɛlɛ] - she is
16 of 65
a
[a] chat [ʃa] - cat
17 of 65
à
[a] là [la] - there
18 of 65
oi
[wa] oiseau [wazo] - bird]
19 of 65
oy
[wa] royal [rwajal] - royal
20 of 65
â
[ɑ] âme [ɑm] - soul
21 of 65
au
[ɔ] often when followed by an "r", as in: laurier [lɔrje] laurel, but not always. Otherwise it is pronounced [o]
22 of 65
o
[ɔ] usually when followed by a pronounced consonant or vowel sound in the same word. frivole (frivolous)
23 of 65
-um
[ɔm] ending in words of foreign origin such as: album [albɔm], minimum [minimɔm]
24 of 65
eau
[o] beauté [bote] - beauty
25 of 65
ô
[o] le nôtre [notr] - ours
26 of 65
au (except when followed by an "r" )
[o] chaud [ʃo] - warm
27 of 65
ou
[u] cou [ku] – neck
28 of 65
où
[u] où [u] – where
29 of 65
oû
[u] goûter [gute] – to taste
30 of 65
u
[y] une [yn] – one, a (feminine)
31 of 65
û
[y] mûr [myr] – mature, ripe
32 of 65
ü
[y] cigüe [sigy] – hemlock
33 of 65
- eu
[ø] feu [fø] – fire
34 of 65
- eut
[ø] il peut [il pø] – he can
35 of 65
- eux
[ø] feux [fø] – fires
36 of 65
- euse
[ø] serveuse [sɛrvøz ] – waitress
37 of 65
- œu
[ø] vœu [vø] – wish
38 of 65
- eur
[œ] fleur [flœr] – flower
39 of 65
- œur
[œ] cœur [kœr] – heart
40 of 65
-e (and -es endings in words of more than one syllable)
[ə] belles filles [bɛlə fijə ] – beautiful girls; elle m’aime [ ɛlə mɛm] – she loves me
41 of 65
-ent verb ending (3rd person plural)
[ə] ils chantent [il ʃɑ̃t ] – they are singing
42 of 65
en, an
[ɑ̃] enfant [ɑ̃fɑ̃] – child
43 of 65
em
[ɑ̃] temple [tɑ̃pl ] – temple
44 of 65
am
[ɑ̃] champ [ʃɑ̃] - field
45 of 65
aën
[ɑ̃] Saint-Saëns [sɛ̃sɑ̃s]
46 of 65
aen
[ɑ̃] Messiaen [mesjɑ̃]
47 of 65
ean
[ɑ̃] Jean [ʒɑ̃] - John
48 of 65
aon
[ɑ̃] paon [pɑ̃] - peacock
49 of 65
on - (NOTE: denazalisation may occur in liaison)
[õ] bonbon [bõbõ] - candy, sweet. BUT: mon amour [mɔnamur] – my love; bon anniversaire [bɔnanivɛrsɛr] – happy birthday
50 of 65
om
[õ] sombre [sõbr] - dark
51 of 65
eon
[õ] pigeon [piʒõ] - pigeon
52 of 65
in
[ɛ̃] fin [fɛ̃] - end
53 of 65
im
[ɛ̃] impossible [ɛ̃pɔsibl] - impossible
54 of 65
ain
[ɛ̃] main [mɛ̃] - hand
55 of 65
aim
[ɛ̃] faim [fɛ̃] - hunger
56 of 65
yn
[ɛ̃] in the name Jocelyn [ʒɔslɛ̃]
57 of 65
ym
[ɛ̃] thym [tɛ̃] - thyme
58 of 65
ein
[ɛ̃] ceinture [sɛ̃tyr] - belt
59 of 65
eim
[ɛ̃] in the name of the city Reims [rɛ̃s]
60 of 65
- ien
[jɛ̃] lien [ljɛ̃] - bond
61 of 65
-iens, -ient (in some verb endings BUT NOT in the 3rd person plural)
[jɛ̃] je viens [ʒœ vjɛ̃] - I am coming ; il tient [il tjɛ̃] - he is holding
62 of 65
en (rarely)
[ɛ̃] in the name Poulenc [pulɛ̃k]; moyen [mwajɛ̃] - medium, middle
63 of 65
un
[œ̃] un [œ̃] - one, a (masculine)
64 of 65
um
[œ̃] parfum [parfœ̃] - perfume
65 of 65

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

- ie (word ending)

Back

[i] vie [vi] - life

Card 3

Front

y

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

é (accent aigu)

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

- ai (verb ending)

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

Comments

Madeleine Banatvala

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THIS IS COOL!!!! WISH I HAD IT SOONER

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