There are 20 IPA symbols used to transcribe consonants in French. Three of these sounds are found only in loanwords from other languages, and one is very rare, leaving only 16 real French consonants.
|
IPA |
Letters |
Examples and Notes |
|
['] |
H |
silent sound |
|
[b] |
B |
bonbons - abricot - chambre |
|
[k] |
C (1) CH CK K QU |
café - sucré Psychologie Franck képi quinze |
|
[ʃ] |
CH SH |
shérif |
|
[d] |
D |
douane - dinde |
|
[f] |
F PH |
février pharmacie |
|
[g] |
G (1) GU |
gants - gris baguette |
|
[ʒ] |
G (2) J |
il gèle - aubergine jaune - déjeuner |
|
[h] |
H |
rất hiếm |
|
[ɲ] |
GN |
baignoire - montagne |
|
[l] |
L |
lampe - fleurs - mille |
|
[m] |
M |
mère - commenter |
|
[n] |
N |
noir - sonner |
|
[ŋ] |
NG |
smoking (from English) |
|
[p] |
P |
père - peu - soup |
|
[r] |
R |
rouge - ronronner |
|
[S] |
C (2) Ç S SC (2) SS TI X |
ceinture leçon sucre science poisson soixante |
|
[t] |
D T TH |
quand on (when connecting sound) tarte - tomate théâtre |
|
[v] |
F V W |
neuf ans (when connecting sound) violet - avion wagon (from German) |
|
[z] |
S X Z |
Spelling Notes:
- (1) = before A, O, U or a consonant
- (2) = before E, I or Y