LinguaThe r in the throat and the n in the nose
Six letters today, N to S, and the two most French sounds of all. The r is not made with the tip of the tongue: it comes from the back of the throat, like a very soft gargle. It has two shades: full and clear at the start of a word (rose, rue), almost whispered at the end after a consonant (quatre ends in a breath, not in “ruh”). The n has a secret too: before a vowel it is a normal n (nez), but AFTER a vowel it disappears into it and the vowel goes through the nose: in oncle you hear no n at all, only a nasal “on”. Then three spelling rules: s between two vowels buzzes like z (rose), while ss stays s (poisson); c softens to s before e and i (ceci), and when a word needs that soft sound before a, o or u it hangs a little hook under the c: ç, garçon. Finally q never walks alone: it is always qu, said k (quatre).
« enne ». Capital N: the left post from the bottom up, the diagonal down to the bottom right, the right post from the bottom up. Small n: a post and one arch. After a vowel it melts into it: the “on” of oncle goes through the nose.
« o ». One stroke: start at the top, go round to the left and close the oval where you began. Always the o of “more”, never “ow”.
p is « pé »: the post goes down BELOW the baseline, then the belly to the right. q is « ku »: the round part first, then the post on the RIGHT, also below the line. A q is never alone: always qu, said k, quatre.
« erre ». Capital R: the post, the belly at the top, then the leg down to the right. Small r: a short post, then a small arch to the right that stops in the air. The sound comes from the throat, never from the tip of the tongue.
« esse ». One stroke: start at the top right, sweep left, cross the middle to the right, and finish at the bottom left. Between two vowels it buzzes like z: rose. Doubled, ss, it stays a clean s: poisson.
| Letter | French name | How it sounds | In a word |
|---|---|---|---|
| N n | enne | n; after a vowel it makes the vowel nasal | nez, oncle |
| O o | o | the o of “more” | rose |
| P p | pé | the p of “spin”, without a puff of air | père |
| Q q | ku | k, always written qu | quatre |
| R r | erre | from the throat, like a soft gargle | rue |
| S s | esse | s; z between two vowels | sel, rose |
| Spelling | Sound | Words |
|---|---|---|
| s at the start of a word | clean s | sel, sac |
| s between two vowels | buzzing z | rose, poison |
| ss | clean s, even between vowels | poisson, classe |
| c + e, i | soft s | ceci, place |
| ç + a, o, u | soft s, forced by the hook | garçon, ça |
| qu | k | quatre, qui |
le nez du garçonthe boy’s nose
un sac de sela bag of salt
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| nez | nose | Le nez de Léa. Léa’s nose. |
| oncle | uncle | Mon oncle Léon. My uncle Léon. |
| père | father | Le père et la mère. The father and the mother. |
| quatre | four (4) | Il est quatre heures. It is four o’clock. |
| rose | rose (the flower); pink | La rose est rose. The rose is pink. |
| sel | salt | Le sel de la mer. The salt of the sea. |
| garçon | boy | Le garçon a un sac. The boy has a bag. |
| poisson | fish | Un poisson rouge. A goldfish. |
| sac | bag | Le sac de l’élève. The pupil’s bag. |
| rue | street | La rue de la Gare. Station Street. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- trace the letter: 3
- fill the gap: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
In which of these words does the s BUZZ like a z?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.