Phonetic alphabet: How to spell semi-vowels in French
September 4, 2022 by Mylene in Pronunciation Lessons ▪
They are called semi-vowels or semi-consonants. Semi-vowels in French form an intermediate category between consonants and vowels. Once you know how to pronounce the sounds, you will have to learn to recognize these phonetic semi-vowels in writing. In this article, you’ll discover how to write all the semi-vowels of the phonetic alphabet in French. The order of presentation is from the most common cases to the most difficult ones, including exceptions. In order, the different sections of this article are:
- What is a semi-vowel?
- How to spell the /j/ sound?
- How to spell the /w/ sound?
- How to spell the/ɥ/ sound?
Write semi-vowels in french
To begin, listen to the correct pronunciation of semi-vowels in French thanks to this video.
What is a semi-vowel in french?
Semi-vowels in french have the voice quality of a vowel but cannot be a single syllable. They are always followed by a phonetic vowel. In French, there are three semi-vowels noted [j], [w], and [ɥ] in the phonetic alphabet.
The first two semi-vowels are present in English. The sound [j] is pronounced in the word “yes“ and the sound [w] is pronounced in the word “wagon“ in English.
How to spell the /j/ sound?
There are 5 ways to spell the [j] sound:
- y, for example: yeux, yaourt, payer, rayon
- i, for instance: piano, hier, bien, papier
- ï, for example: aïeux, faïence, paranoïa, païen
- il, for example: travail, accueil, bercail, fenouil, treuil
- ille, for instance: merveille, famille, fille, conseille, nouille
How to spell the /w/ sound?
There are 7 ways to spell the [w] sound:
- ou, for instance: oui, avouer, éblouir, loua, échouer
- oi, for example: mois, boire, parfois, espoir, Loire
- qu, for instance: aquarium, adéquat, équateur, quaternaire, équation
- gu, for instance: jaguar
- oê, for example: poêle
- w, for instance: watt
- oe, for example: moelle
How to spell the /Ɥ/ sound?
There is one way to spell the [ɥ] sound:
- u, for instance: huit, aujourd’hui, annuel, actualité, distribuer
Book a study session
Learning the pronunciation on your own can be very difficult. You need someone to explain to you where your mistakes are. This video is very educational but to overcome all your French pronunciation difficulties book a study session to receive personalized advice.
