FRENCH DIFFICULT CONSONANTS

French consonants are pronounced almost like in English, except that you don't linger on them; let them explode and move on to the vowel that follows. You can't pronounce French with a lazy mouth. Remember to articulate.

Another few words of caution: In French, the consonants at the end of a word are not usually pronounced, except for c, f, r, and l (the consonants in the word careful).

LETTER	SOUND	AS IN	WORD	NOTES

c	c	cash	cache	generally
c	s	set	cette	before e, i and y
ç	s	set	ça	only occurs before a, o, and u
g	g	god	gant	generally
g	zh	measure	gens	before e, i and y
h		hour	hier	always silent
j	zh	measure	je
m	m	more	moi	syllable initial
n	n	not	non	syllable initial
r	r		rouge
s	s	sit	soie	generally
s	z	zip	pause	between vowels
x	ks	fix	fixe	generally
x	gz	exam	exercise	between vowels (ex-)
y	y	yet	yeux	before a vowel

r - pronounced at the back of the throat, with your uvula. Needs lots of practise.

Combinations

Of the several consonant and vowel-consonant combinations used in French, two are pronounced as in English: ph and sc (pronounced [s] before e or i).

LETTER	SOUND	AS IN	WORD	NOTES

ch	sh	ship	chic
gn	ny	onion	Boulogne	run the sounds together
il	y	yet	oeuil	see below
qu	k	quiche	quand	pronounced (kw) in a few words
tch	ch	check	tchèque	very rare
th	t	Thomas	thé	rare
ti	sy	pass you	action	before a vowel, similary '-tie' is pronounced like French 'si'