Reading French doesnt’ need to be hard. When using the right method, it actually becomes a source of intellectual stimulation, and a great reading experience – of the same kind that you can experience in your native language.
Follow these 5 tips to start reading French with confidence.
Using these steps means you won’t waste your time and energy second guessing or struggling to decipher every word. What a pain that would be!
Regular practice will help you implement these tips best. We all forget, everybody forgets 🙂
1. Silent letters
Thomas /s/ – Thomas
Richard
Robert
charles
Michelle, Jacqueline, Katherine, Stephanie, Julie
Nicolas, but not Eric
2. Key to a beautiful French reading is vowels.
Remember that, in French, a beautiful sound matters more than anything?
Vowels are said to be more pleasant to the ear than consonants – so French goes for beautiful words made of a, e, i, o, u.
Focusing on reading vowels will help you avoid wasting time with a method based on starting consonants, or worse, starting with the alphabet, with all letters undifferentiated, vowels and consonants alike.
3. Knowing how common the vowel combos are helps a lot:
Here are the most common vowel combos in French, using first names and common words similar to both English and French:
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a+i = ai Claire EN, Claire FR / clair, claire (clear, bright)
a+e = Mae EN, Maeva FR / aéroport (airport)
a+u = Audrey EN, Audrey FR / automatique, automne (automatic, autumn)
e+a / Lea EN, Léa FR / réaction (ré+action)
e+e / Dorothy EN, Dorothée FR, Timothy EN, Timothée FR / idée,
e+i / / their, heir – la Seine, reine – use the ‘Jen’ from Jennifer
e+o = Leo EN, Léo FR (see Léa above) / vidéo, dé-odorant (video, de-odorant)
e+u = Eugene EN, Eugène FR / Europe (Europe), , euro, deux, jeu, feu, Dieu, milieu, Matthieu
i+a = Diana EN / Diane FR / génial, partial, fiable – /yah/
i+e = Daniel EN, Daniel FR / ciel, / yeh/ — see: Julie EN / Julie FR, Stephanie, Stéphanie — i+e at the end of a word isn’t a proper combo: the last -e is silent, so we have ju+li + (silent e) = /ju+li/ = Julie ! – ien is another combo
i+i = NONE
i+o = Antonio / bio, bio / audio, audio /yoe/ – chariot, chariot — ion is another combo: version, option
i+u = almost NONE
o+a = NO ‘French’ words’ – words originated from English kept their English pronunciation: le goal, le coach, le toast, for lack of a better way to pronounce English o+a.
o+e = Joe EN / no French for o+e. not a combo, but o+e+u is: oeuvre, soeur, oeuf.
o+i = No English combo for o+i / Antoine, Antoinette, Detroit, Détroit FR /wah/ / joi(e) FR vs joy EN — oin is another combo
o+o = Woody EN, no French for o+o / only borrowed from English: zoom, cool, foot
o + u = Lou EN, Lou FR / — oui is another combo : /wee/ – L+wee (louis ou lui ?) // boule FR, bowl EN
Mettre une photo de Lou Doilllon / Louis Garrel
u+a = Joshua EN, Joshua FR / is not a sound combo, although found in ‘nuage’ = nu + age, not n+ua+ge
u+e = Samuel EN, Samuel FR / is not a sound combo, although found in ‘cruel’ = c + ru + el, not cr+ue+l
u+i = No English combo for u+i — imagine the name Tweek EN spelt Tuik FR / cuisine, huile, nuit, huit, fruit, ennui / guitare, guide, qui are different combos gu+i, and qu+i.
u+o = from LATIN very rare – duo, fluo / same as English
u+u = NONE
The most common French vowel combos are therefore:
ai, au
eu
oi, ou
ui
Saving you hours of painful deciphering through random or imaginary vowel combos.
‘-N’ combos
ai+n
au+n = NO
eu+n = only in ‘jeune’ (young)
oi+n
ou+n = NO
ui+n = NO (juin est ju+in)
ion
oin
ain
uin – juin
Vowel + N combos – N is a very powerful consonant in French, much more than in English.
a+n – Christian
e+n – Vincent
i+n – Vincent
o+n –
u+n
Common endings
– a+l = animal, musical
cf aqa
3. English has words – French has sets of words (GN, la phrase + intonation)
4. English has short words – French has longer words.
why / pourquoi
pour+quoi = pourquoi
now / maintenant
That means breaking down words into smaller units is essential to reading.
In this example, ‘maintenant’ breaks down into:
‘m+ain’ =main
‘t+e’ = te
‘n+ant’ = nant (silent -t)
This is only a small part of my ‘French Reading Made Simple’ method.
In this method, I pronounce each vowel combo clearly and use an example featuring a very common word – that will always be pronounced this way. You can play the sounds as many times as you like – and don’t forget to take some breaks! 😉
I also use more pictures as an aid to memory.
Get comfy and safe – you’re in the right hands. You can take on this French learning journey, feeling your confidence growing every day – even coming back for more! This will boost your motivation to read more French, meaning you keep up the momentum you’re building.
This also facilitates memory – and chances are you won’t forget much of what you’ve learned over time – because you’ll keep coming back for more French reading.
This is one the best intellectual experiences you will ever have. Being able to read French can change your life in so many ways!
If you’re in for a new experience, you’re in the right place.
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Start now and get your FORMATION.
One last word: Take your time as you encounter new combos.
Keep it simple.
Leave a comment below to share the combos that you find harder to grasp.
Thanks!