| French IPA Symbols - Consonants |
| Guide to the IPA symbols used to represent French consonant sounds |
Consonants | Vowels | Nasal Vowels | Semi-Vowels
Introduction to IPA | French IPA Symbols
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More Info If this introductory guide to French IPA symbols leaves you wanting more detail, consult Savoir Dire, by Diane Dansereau. |
There are 20 IPA symbols used to transcribe consonant sounds in French. Three of these sounds are only found in words borrowed from other languages and one is very rare, which leaves only 16 true French consonant sounds. There is also a single diacritical mark, which is included here.
| IPA | Spelling | Examples and Notes |
| [ ' ] | H, O, Y | indicates a forbidden liaison |
| [b] | B | bonbons - abricot - chambre |
| [k] | C (1) CH CK K QU |
café - sucre psychologie Franck ski quinze |
 |
CH SH |
chaud - anchois short |
| [d] | D | douane - dinde |
| [f] | F PH |
février - neuf pharmacie |
| [g] | G (1) | gants - bague - gris |
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G (2) J |
il gèle - aubergine jaune - déjeuner |
| [h] | H | very rare |
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GN | agneau - baignoire |
| [ l ] | L | lampe - fleurs - mille |
| [m] | M | mère - comment |
| [n] | N | noir - sonner |
[ ] |
NG | smoking (words from English) |
| [p] | P | père - pneu - soupe |
| [ r ] | R | rouge - ronronner |
| [s] | C (2) Ç S SC (2) SS TI X |
ceinture caleçon sucre sciences poisson attention soixante |
| [t] | D T TH |
quand on (only in liaisons) tarte - tomate théâtre |
| [v] | F V W |
only in liaisons violet - avion wagon (words from German) |
| [x] | J KH |
words from Spanish words from Arabic |
| [z] | S X Z |
visage - ils ont deux enfants (only in liaisons) zizanie |
Spelling Notes:
(1) = in front of A, O, U, or a consonant
(2) = in front of E, I, or Y
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