u says "oo," almost

The French u sound is different from any sound we have in English. It is very close to the “oo” sound in food, but not exactly the same. To make the French u sound shape your tongue and teeth as if you are going to say “ee” and shape your lips as if you are … Read more

é says "ay"

Sometimes French uses accents to show what kind of sound a certain letter should have. In French é says “ay.” Here are some é words for you to translate. bébé (bay-BAY)téléphone (tay-lay-FUN)éléphant (ay-lay-FAH)café (ca-FAY)télévision (tay-lay-vee-ZYOH) Visit Nallenart for more information about our French curriculum for grades K-9. * Please note that these guides give only … Read more

a says "a" in sack

In French, the letter a makes a short sound like the a in sack. Can you translate these French words based on their sound? sac (sak)radio (rad-YOH)carotte (ca-RUT)table (TA-bluh)salade (sa-LAD) Visit Nallenart for more information about our French curriculum for grades K-9. * Please note that these guides give only an approximation of the real … Read more

i says "ee"

The letter i says “ee” in French, as in the name Lisa. Here are some French words that use the “ee” sound made by the letter i. Can you tell what these words mean in English? tigre (TEE-gruh)appétit (a-pay-TEE)favori (fa-voh-REE)Bible (BEE-bluh)girafe (zhee-RAF)* Visit Nallenart for more information about our French curriculum for grades K-9. * … Read more

Vowel Sounds in French

French and English share some vowel sounds but others can be quite different. a (short a)sac (SAK) = bag a, â (ah)bas (BAH) = stockinggâteau (gah-TOH) = cakeé, ay, er, ez (long a)bébé (bay-BAY) = babypays (pay-EE) = countryparler (pahr-LAY) = to speaknez (NAY) = nose e (short u)le (LUH) = theme (MUH) = myselfrenard … Read more