How to pronounce Manger vs. Mangeais in French?
Updated: April 21, 2021 by Mylene in How to Pronounce ▪
French Verb Manger
Manger is a verb in French that means to eat. The verb in the infinitive is written as manger. If you’re looking to visit France, there are good chances that you’ll taste the local cuisine and try different French food. Therefore learning how to use and how to pronounce the verb manger is essential.
Below, you’ll find some sentences with the word manger in French, for example:
- Je veux manger un plat chaud. I want to eat a hot meal.
- Je commence à avoir un peu faim. Si on allait manger dans un restaurant ? I start to feel hungry. What if we go to eat in a restaurant?
- Mes enfants rêvent de manger un bon gâteau au chocolat fait maison. My children dream of eating a good homemade chocolate cake.
How to use the French verb to eat in the near future?
Use manger to talk about future actions as to mention something in the near future. The appropriate future French tense to use in such case is the near future (le futur proche). As in English the near future is composed of the auxiliary verb “to be” + “going” + verb in the infinitive. For example:
- I’m going to take a day off tomorrow. Je vais prendre un jour de congé demain.
In French, the near future is composed of the verb aller (to go) in the present tense + the main verb in the infinitive:
- Je vais manger. I’m going to eat.
- Elle va manger. She’s going to eat.
- Ils vont manger. They’re going to eat.
French Verb Mangeais
Mangeais is also a form of the verb manger. Mangeais is the verb manger conjugated to the past imperfect tense. Example:
- L’année dernière, c’était la première fois que je mangeais dans un restaurant ethiopien. It was the first time last year that I ate at an Ethiopian restaurant.
- Je mangeais beaucoup de chocolat avant. Before, I used to eat a lot of chocolate.
How to pronounce “Manger” in French?
Manger is pronounced /mɑ̃ʒe/.
- /m/: Close the lips and push air through the nose. No air should leave your mouth. Vibrate your vocal cords.
- /ɑ̃/: The mouth is wide open and relaxed. The tongue is back. Your vocal cords vibrate.
- /ʒ/: Place the tip of your tongue at the front of the top of your mouth, behind where the /s/ is produced. Vibrate your vocal cords as you push air between the top of your mouth and the tip of your tongue.
- /e/: The tongue is forward in the mouth, the tip of the tongue is against the lower teeth and the lips are unrounded. Your vocal cords vibrate.
How to pronounce “Mangeais” in French?
Mangeais is pronounced /mɑ̃ʒɛ/
- /ɛ/: We call it an open /e/ because the mouth is literally a little bit more open when you say it. The tongue touches the front lower teeth. The mouth is much more open. The muscles of your mouth should be relaxed. Your vocal cords vibrate.
This Instagram video will show you how to pronounce the words Manger and Mangeais. It’s part of our Effortless French Words Pronunciation series.
Click the link to listen to this video or directly play the video shown below.
Pronunciation of AI in French
In addition, find more about the pronunciation of the letter ai in French by watching the following video: How to pronounce AI in French and the Exceptions that You Should Know.
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