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Lesson 0-3 — Nasal vowels & semi-vowels

Sounds English doesn't have
Unit 0 · Phonétique 4 nasal vowels · 3 semi-vowels silent h / aspirated h
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Goals

What you'll be able to do

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to:

  • Pronounce the 4 nasal vowels [ɑ̃], [ɛ̃], [ɔ̃], [œ̃]
  • Pronounce the 3 semi-vowels [j], [w], [ɥ]
  • Tell apart silent h (h muet) and aspirated h (h aspiré)
  • Recognize denasalization: un [œ̃] → une [yn]
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Concepts to know

Three things English doesn't do

① Nasal vowels

French has 4 nasal vowels: [ɑ̃], [ɛ̃], [ɔ̃], [œ̃]. They're produced by letting the air flow through your nose as well as your mouth — the soft palate drops down.

⚠️ Critical: the n or m after the vowel is not pronounced — it's just a spelling clue telling you the vowel is nasal. maman = [mamɑ̃], not [ma-man]. English speakers tend to pronounce the n/m clearly — fight that instinct. Think "ma-MAH" with air through your nose, not "ma-MAN".

② Denasalization

When n or m is followed by another vowel — or doubled (nn, mm) — the vowel is no longer nasal. This is huge for masculine vs feminine forms!

  • un [œ̃]  ↔  une [yn]  (masc. → fem. — "a / an")
  • bon [bɔ̃]  ↔  bonne [bɔn]  (masc. → fem. — "good")
  • parfum [paʁfœ̃]  ↔  parfumer [paʁfyme]

③ The letter h

The letter h is always silent in French — you never hear it. (No breathy h like in English hello.) But there are still two kinds of h, and they behave differently:

TypeBehaviourExamples
silent h
h muet		 Liaison & elision allowed. The word behaves as if it started with a vowel. l'homme, les hôtels [le-zo-tɛl], l'heure
aspirated h
h aspiré		 Liaison & elision blocked. An invisible barrier prevents contact with the previous word. le héros, les ǀ haricots, la honte
💡 In dictionaries, an aspirated h is usually marked with an asterisk [*] or an apostrophe. There's no rule to predict it — you have to learn each word.
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Reading rules — Nasal vowels

Spelling patterns for the 4 nasals
SoundLetters / combinationsExamples
[ɑ̃] an · am · en · em maman, champ, enfant, tempête
[ɔ̃] on · om bon, honte, bombe
[ɛ̃] in · im · yn · ym · ain · aim · ein · en (after i, y, é) simple, sympa, pain, daim, peinture, bien
[œ̃] un · um lundi, parfum

💡 Memo for the nasals

« Un bon vin blanc » ("a good white wine") — the classic mnemonic. It contains all 4 nasals in order:
un [œ̃] · bon [ɔ̃] · vin [ɛ̃] · blanc [ɑ̃].

Note: in modern Parisian French, [œ̃] tends to merge with [ɛ̃]. Many French speakers pronounce un and brin identically. Either is acceptable.

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Reading rules — Semi-vowels

Glides between two vowels

Semi-vowels (also called semi-consonants) are 3 sounds halfway between a vowel and a consonant. They appear when i, u, or ou is followed by another vowel inside the same syllable. Think of English y in yes or w in wet — same idea.

SoundLetters / combinationsExamples
[j]
(yod)		 i + vowel · y between vowels · -il / -ill in final position · -il after a consonant miel, bien, nation, payer, soleil, famille
[ɥ] u + vowel lui, nuage, huit
[w] ou + vowel · oi [wa] · oin [wɛ̃] oui, Louis, moi, point

💡 The trio lui · oui · si

A famous trick to feel the three semi-vowels and hear the difference:

  • lui [lɥi] — semi-vowel [ɥ] (lips tightly rounded — same as in tu)
  • oui [wi] — semi-vowel [w] (lips rounded — same as English "we")
  • si [si] — no semi-vowel, just plain [i]

⚠️ [ɥ] doesn't exist in English. It's the consonant version of [y] (the rounded "ee" from lesson 0-1) — say it short and quick before the next vowel.

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Practice

Try it out

Exercise 1 — The 4 nasals Les 4 nasales

Read out loud, then repeat each column 3 times.

[ɑ̃] [ɔ̃] [ɛ̃] [œ̃]
mamanbonpainun
champnomvinbrun
blanconzesimpleparfum
tantemondeReimslundi
enfantpomponmatinaucun

Exercise 2 — Nasal ↔ oral Denasalization

Read each pair: nasal on the left, denasalized (after adding -e) on the right.

NasalDenasalizedMeaning
un [œ̃]une [yn]a / an (m. / f.)
bon [bɔ̃]bonne [bɔn]good (m. / f.)
chinois [ʃinwa]chinoise [ʃinwaz]Chinese (m. / f.)
plein [plɛ̃]pleine [plɛn]full (m. / f.)
fin [fɛ̃]fine [fin]thin (m. / f.)

Exercise 3 — Semi-vowels Which one?

For each word, pick the semi-vowel it contains.
Hint: i + vowel → [j], u + vowel → [ɥ], ou + vowel / oi → [w]

  1. fille →
  2. nuit →
  3. moi →
  4. travail →
  5. huile →
  6. oui →
  7. nation →
  8. suis →
  9. roi →
  10. bien →
  11. juin →
  12. louer →

Exercise 4 — What is it? Qu'est-ce que c'est ?

Read each word and write its IPA transcription.

  • un lapin · rabbit
  • un chien · dog
  • un éléphant · elephant
  • un papillon · butterfly
  • une montagne · mountain
  • un bonbon · candy / sweet
  • une voiture · car
  • un parapluie · umbrella
  • le soleil · sun
  • un avion · plane

Exercise 5 — I'm speaking French Je parle français

  • C'est un avion. — It's a plane.
  • Ce sont des voitures. — These are cars.
  • Ce sont des éléphants. — These are elephants.
  • Au revoir, mademoiselle. — Goodbye, miss.
  • Vouloir, c'est pouvoir. — Proverb: "To want is to be able." — i.e. "Where there's a will, there's a way."