French Pronunciation Practice (with a REAL French speaker)

"What's the deal with French pronunciation? Why is it so hard to grasp?!" If you've ever asked yourself these questions, please know that you're not alone. Certain words and sounds are notoriously hard to pronounce in French, even though they're quite common!

0:00 - Practice French Pronunciation
0:41 - Le "r"
2:37 - Nasal sounds "an", "on", "in"
5:48 - French "u"
7:55 - Silent Letters
9:34 - La liaison
11:33 - Le "e'

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🇫🇷 LEARN FRENCH WITH GÉRALDINE

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At Comme une Française, we specialize in everyday spoken French. We focus on three unique aspects that are different from school French, self-study books, Duolingo, etc:
1. We focus only on the specifics of speaking/understanding/being understood in everyday French and have unique ways to help you learn it properly & faster.
2. We focus on shortcuts to help you make progress faster, which also means we tell you exactly what you can stop learning to prioritize what’s really important.
3. We use French culture as the subject to make it fun and interesting for adults.

Take care and stay safe.
😘 from Grenoble, France.

Géraldine

[stewartlloyd]

To remember the C, R, F and L endings, use the english word "CaReFuL", throw away the vowels and you have the CRFL consonants, some people call the this "careful" consonants

[wemblyfez]

There's a phrase a learned years ago to practice those difficult nasal sounds (and I go back and repeat it often): "Un bon vin blanc". I exaggerate the sounds when I practice (tout seul!) and it seems to help. Not saying I get it right all the time but it seems to, at least, help me hear some of the subtle differences. Just throwing it out there....

[GDMiller]

I've been taking/speaking French since 7th grade, and I thinking being from Baltimore makes the 'u' quite easy. We pronounce most of our u/ou words like that and other americans make fun of us for it. Interestingly, a large number of French people came here fleeing the Haitian Revolution, and I wonder if that impacted how we speak.

[kevinrazban]

For someone like me who grew up speaking Canadian French, I have a hard time with pronouncing “main, ” “Alain” and “pain” without making a hard nasal honk sound as opposed to a breathy sound like Geraldine.

[johngalvin]

When pronouncing a word ending in an "n" in English, we finish with the tongue against the aveolar ridge behind the upper teeth. This is true even though the ending is partially nasalized (e.g., Don, din, plan, etc.). When pronouncing a nasalized syllable in French, the tip of the tongue lies flat behind the bottom teeth.

[spencergee]

Les nasales. At school (a million years ago), to practice the nasals sounds in French, we were encouraged to repeat 'un bon vin blanc'. The waiter at an hotel on a visit to France (before Covid) did not react to my request other than 'd'accord'.

[lillaego]

i work in a bakery in paris as a vendeuse and apparently the U sound is the most difficult for me - and the one that leads to many funny mistakes. when i say formule (formule déjeuner) they (my coworkers) think of mules (animal) because of how i pronounce the U. also when i say jus they think of joue. many many words have the same pronounciation (or a very subtle difference to a foreigner) which lead to very difficult situations, like entière (comme une brioche entière) and un tiers (un tiers de la brioche, on vend a la coupe). so it is not just funny or a matter of accent, it makes a difference to comprehension. it is so hard!

[sachihirono]

Hello, Géraldine!
I love your French lessons! It's really practical, and somehow you always bring up the linguistic problem/difficulty which I often wonder about. They are very useful lessons!
I have a request for another lesson. When I read the (relatively) long sentences, often I'm not sure when to hold a breath/pause. For example, when my French teacher asks me to read a text in the class, I start reading aloud without knowing for sure when to breathe/pause during the sentences.
I know that knowing those 'timings' makes a lot of differences in a sound, more natural and fluent like native speakers (because they mutually pause the same e.g. words, timing, etc.). So, I'd totally appreciate it if you can give us a tip (if there is any) to sound more natural and flowy when reading a long sentence. Thank you, Géraldine!

[MadameX_]

Those r’s are so hard for me as a Spanish speaker!!

[virginiaensinck]

Thank you, Geraldine! You're an excellent teacher! My native language is Spanish (from Argentina) and the most difficult french sound for me is the "r". Thanks for your tips! I'll keep practicing 👍💪

[LearnEnglishWithMatta]

Thank you for this video; I'm trying to learn French by the end of the year!

[elmawcolaco]

ce que je trouve le plus merveilleux, c'est le fait que votre explication soit présentée en mode anglais, j'apprends l'anglais aussi et avec vous c'est fantastique.. merci !

[janetmackinnon]

As always you are clear and very helpful.Thank you.

[luissantiago]

Really love Geraldine's approach in teaching French. She makes it accessible and clear, but also fun and funny. One of the attributes that make French attractive, are vocal sounds one makes when speaking it. There are nasal intonations which I find elegant and nuanced. French sounds pleasant to the ear. Not only to those who hear it, but the ones who are doing the speaking. Which is why I enjoy reading French out loud.

[Udhman]

Bon travail Mme, c'est très utile pour les débutants qui commencent à apprendre la langue française!
"Vive la langue française!"
Mohamed de l'Inde

[TinaandBellesMom]

Bonjour, i love the lessons - you put a lot in quickly. It’s hard to repeat it sometimes unless I attack the pause button. It’d be great to slow down just a few seconds in between. Otherwise, thanks again for another great lesson. Have a great day 😊😊

[emmzz]

the fact that you added songs to this
marvellous!!!!

[lizb]

I recently made a new French friend and want to brush up on my high school French so she doesn't have to speak English all the time. Your videos are amazing, the best channel I have found for learning French!

[teddytodorova]

I've always been intimidated by the French, because of the pronunciation. Finally I gathered some courage to learn something in French and your videos will help me a lot. Merci beaucoup!

[doreendsouza]

I ve learnt so much ...thankuou fir the pronunciations ...I needed it most ....hats off to you. You teach very well .