Chapter 3 of 16 · Explore the French path
The script · Chapter 3 of 16
Read eight useful words from a small sound guide
Work out eight real words from a small sound guide, with a hint for the one thing the guide does not settle. All eight come back in the two stories at the end.
≈ 4 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- The guide below holds every sound the eight words need.
- Each hint supplies the one thing the guide does not settle; this is guided reading, not a test from nothing.
- Try each word once, reveal it, say it. All eight come back in the two stories at the end of this path.
- Approximate the French r and keep moving; the full alphabet is a lookup section, not a prerequisite.
Only the sounds these eight words need
This small guide holds every sound the eight words need. You do not need the whole alphabet yet.
| Letter or group | Sound to try |
|---|---|
| a | the a in father — not the a in cat |
| e | the u in fur; at the very end of a word, next to nothing |
| i | the ee in see |
| o | the o in go, with no w slide at the end |
| ch | the sh of ship |
| r | a soft scrape at the back of the throat |
| s | s as in sun — but z between two vowels |
| ou | the oo in food |
| oi | the wa in watch |
| eau | three letters, one sound |
| ai / ê | the e in bed |
| an / en | the vowel of father, sent through the nose |
| on | the same trick with the vowel of go |
| b d f l m n p t v | as in English — but a final consonant is usually silent |
The only thing the guide leaves out is which final letters go silent in which word — that is what the hints supply.
Eight words for the two stories
Use the sound guide and the hint. Say the whole word aloud, then reveal.
- chat
ch + a; the t is not said
Show answer +Hide answer −
chatshah “cat” - renard
r + uh + n + a + r; the d is not said
Show answer +Hide answer −
renardruh-nar “fox” - souris
ou is one sound; the last s is not said
Show answer +Hide answer −
sourissoo-ree “mouse” - oiseau
oi, then an s between two vowels, then eau
Show answer +Hide answer −
oiseauwah-zoh “bird”. Six letters, two syllables, and not one of them is the letter you would guess. - arbre
a + r + b + r, and the final e is barely there
Show answer +Hide answer −
arbrear-bruh “tree” - forêt
ê is eh; the t is not said
Show answer +Hide answer −
forêtfoh-reh “forest” - maison
ai is eh; the s sits between two vowels; on goes through the nose
Show answer +Hide answer −
maisonmeh-zoh(n) “house” - vent
en goes through the nose, and the t is not said
Show answer +Hide answer −
ventvah(n) “wind”
A mark can change the word
Two French words can differ only by the mark above a letter. Compare each pair.