Can you handle these French pronunciation nightmares?
Repeat each word after me in the video!
1) MOUILLÉ (wet)
The trick is the sound “ouill” – it’s not “moo-eel-yay” as English speakers often try. It’s more like “oo” then a really quick “ee” sound. There’s no “L” sound here.
Repeat after me in the video!
The secret is in the mouth position: start with rounded lips for the “ou” sound, then quickly transition to a “y” sound with flatter lips. The whole thing needs to flow smoothly.
Attention, le sol est mouillé, tu pourrais glisser. (= Be careful, the floor is wet, you could slip.)
2) LA GRENOUILLE (frog)
There are several challenging sounds here:
The hard French “R” sound in “gre”
Then you find that “ouill” sound again, just like in “mouillé.”
Repeat after me in the video!
Watch the position of your lips and tongue:
– for the “R” your tongue goes to the back of your throat.
– Then round your lips for “nou,” and finish with the “y” sound in “ouille.”
La grenouille saute dans la mare (= The frog jumps into the pond)
3) LA BOUILLOIRE (kettle)
You need to blend the sounds quickly, while still being clear.
J’ai lancé la bouilloire pour faire du thé. (= I put the kettle on to make some tea.)
4) L’ÉCUREUIL (squirrel)
It’s a classic pronunciation challenge:
The first “é” is simple, if you remember that this accent mark over the “e” makes the “é” sound.
Then you have “cu” with the difficult French “u” sound: you have to push your lips forward.
Then you have the hard French “R”, and the weird “euil” sound: “reuil”.
“Euil” is weird because it’s spelled in a totally different way than it’s pronounced. There’s no “u”, “i” or “l” sound. Instead, it’s like the vowel in “a bird”, and the “ye” as in “mouillé”.
Click here to learn more about this pronunciation:
The “euil” sound: pronouncing “écureuil” – Comme une Française lesson
Au parc, j’ai vu un écureuil. (= At the park, I saw a squirrel)
5) ACCUEILLIR (to welcome)
The verb “accueillir” (to welcome) will come up on your next trip to France: at the hotel, in museums and public places, or even in a dinner between friends.
It looks difficult, but it’s not that hard to pronounce. Let’s break it down:
“Acc” is easy to say actually: despite the two “c”s, it simply sounds like “ak”.
“Ueil” sounds like the “euil” sound we’ve seen in “écureuil.” Yes, this time the “u” is placed before the “e”, but it’s the same sound! It’s juste a French trick to have a hard “c” sound.
“Ir” sounds simple, you simply have to make it flow with the “ye” sound from before.
The noun is: l’accueil = a welcome, or the help desk with staff that can help you.
C’est très sympa de m’accueillir. (= It’s really nice to welcome me like this.)
6) UN CHIRURGIEN (a surgeon)
This one starts simple but quickly gets weird:
– “chi” is easy, it’s a soft “sh” sound.
– “rur” is basically a gargle! A French “u” sound between two hard French “R” is its own special challenge. Don’t be too harsh on the French “R” here. Since it’s in the middle, French people don’t stress it too much, and we pronounce it quickly.
– And finally, “gien” : it’s a soft “g”, a quick “ee” sound, and the nasal vowel “un” (and not “an.”)
Mon fils est chirurgien. (= My son is a surgeon.)
7) L’INTENTION (intention)
Do you like nasal vowels? “Intention” has all of them!
IN — nasal vowel “in”
TEN – nasal vowel “en”
TION – a short “ee” sound, and the nasal vowel “on.” Just like in English, the “t” changes its sound in the nouns ending in “tion.” In French it sounds like “s”.
The challenge is not to mix up your nasal vowels here.
J’ai l’intention de l’appeler. (= I have the intention to call him, I mean to call him.)
8) OIGNON (onion)
A weird spelling and a weird pronunciation – but delicious in any dish.
– Here, the first part (“OI”) simply sounds like “O.” The “i” is silent and doesn’t change anything.
– “GN” sounds like le Spanish ñ, or like the “gn” in lasagna, or even the “ny” in “canyon.”
– And we end with the nasal vowel “ON.”
Moi, j’adore les oignons. (= I love onions.)
9) UN PORTEFEUILLE (wallet)
Literally, a “carry-paper” :
– “POR” has that hard French “R” sound
– The “e” in “TE” is pronounced, not skipped.
– “FEUILLE” is simply a “F” with the “euil” sound from before. The finale “LE” doesn’t change it, it all really just sounds like “euil”.
Tu as pris ton portefeuille ? (= Did you take your wallet?)
10) HEUREUSEMENT (fortunately)
One of the most difficult French words to pronounce for learners!
This beautiful adverb means “fortunately” or “luckily.”
HEU → silent “H” + French “eu” sound (you don’t hear the “u” sound in this word)
REU → Same thing with a French “R” sound this time
SE → Here, “S” sounds like “z”. We mostly cut the “e” in everyday French
MENT → Nasal sound “en” + silent “t”
As with the previous words: repeat after me in the video!
Heureusement, j’ai retrouvé mon portefeuille ! (= Luckily, I finally found my wallet!)
11) BONUS CHALLENGE
Can you repeat all these words in succession?
Read this list out loud in front of your screen!
Mouillé – Grenouille – Bouilloire – Écureuil – Accueillir – Chirurgien – Intention – Oignon – Portefeuille – Heureusement
How did you do? What words should we cover in our next video? And remember, even if you didn’t get them perfect, the point was to have fun while practicing!
Merci. Très joli
Je voudrais savoir comment dire le mot <>.
Good! This helps with my troublesome pair of wine locations in France: Rully in Burgundy and Reuilly in the Loire.