Learn to read French
A short, active path into reading French: decode real words before revealing their sound, learn the silent endings and the joins between words, follow where the pieces of a sentence sit, and read a small story before opening your first book.
Read eight useful words from a small sound guide
- 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
| Letter or group | Sound to try |
|---|---|
| aah | the a in father — not the a in cat |
| euh | the u in fur; at the very end of a word, next to nothing |
| iee | the ee in see |
| ooh | the o in go, with no w slide at the end |
| chsh | the sh of ship |
| r | a soft scrape at the back of the throat |
| ss / z | s as in sun — but z between two vowels |
| ouoo | the oo in food |
| oiwah | the wa in watch |
| eauoh | three letters, one sound |
| ai / êeh | the e in bed |
| an / enah(n) | the vowel of father, sent through the nose |
| onoh(n) | 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
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renardruh-nar“fox” - souris
ou is one sound; the last s is not said
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sourissoo-ree“mouse” - oiseau
oi, then an s between two vowels, then eau
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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
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arbrear-bruh“tree” - forêt
ê is eh; the t is not said
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forêtfoh-reh“forest” - maison
ai is eh; the s sits between two vowels; on goes through the nose
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maisonmeh-zoh(n)“house” - vent
en goes through the nose, and the t is not said
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ventvah(n)“wind”