Compare sounds that need different cues
| Sound pair or pattern | Example | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| /ʒ/ and /ʃ/ | je, chat | Voice vibration distinguishes these two fricatives. |
| /ɲ/ | montagne | The gn spelling often represents one consonant sound. |
| French R | rue, merci | Listen to the short sound in context; avoid forcing the throat. |
| Final consonants | avec, petit | Some are pronounced and others are not. Check the word. |
Open the 35-sound chart for isolated references. It is a teaching inventory; a single reference is not a standard for every French accent.
Keep sound and spelling separate
The same sound can appear under different spellings, and a written consonant may be silent in one word but pronounced in another. Learn a small group of examples rather than adding every exception at once. A dictionary with audio helps when you meet a new word.
The j versus ch guide and the gn guide each isolate one pattern before moving to phrases.
A consonant practice routine
Listen to one example word, pause and repeat it. Record the same word inside a short phrase. Compare the beginning and end of the consonant: did you add extra breath, an extra vowel or a pause that was absent from the model?
Make one change and repeat the whole phrase. Do not prolong every consonant just to make it audible; a practice exaggeration can help you notice a feature, but the final target is the word in context.
Common mistakes and exceptions
Avoid the rule “all final consonants are silent.” Also avoid the opposite habit of pronouncing every written letter. The final-consonant guide distinguishes ordinary word pronunciation from liaison.
In Parle, model audio and recording let you repeat a selected target inside a mission. Word detection can identify a reason to replay, but it does not diagnose the consonant itself.