Liaisons interdites
Some liaisons are forbidden: they aren’t—can’t be—pronounced even in the most formal French. Sometimes this is to avoid confusion with similar expressions, sometimes it has to do with a sort of respect for names and foreign words, and other times there’s no apparent logic to it.
| 1. | Before h aspiré | |
| en haut | [a(n) oh] | |
| les héros | [lay ay roh] | |
| deux homards | [deu oh mahr] | |
| 2. | Before onze and oui | |
| les onze enfants | [lay o(n) za(n) fa(n)]* | |
| deux oui et un non | [deu wee ay u(n) no(n)] | |
| 3. | After names | |
| Robert a 15 ans. | [ro beh ra keh(n) za(n)] | |
| Nicolas est prêt. | [nee ko la ay preh] | |
| 4. | After singular nouns | |
| mon chat aime jouer | [mo(n) shah ehm zhoo ay] | |
| un garçon intelligent | [gar so(n) eh(n) teh lee zha(n)] | |
| 5. | After et | |
| avant et après | [ah va(n) ay ah preh] | |
| un homme et une femme | [u(n) nuh may un fahm] | |
| 6. | After interrogative adverbs** and toujours | |
| Comment est-elle ? | [ko(n) ma(n) eh tehl] | |
| Combien en vois-tu ? | [ko(n) byeh(n) a(n) vwah too] | |
| Quand aimes-tu étudier ? | [ka(n) ehm too ay too dyay] | |
| toujours aimable | [too zhu reh mahbl(eu)] | |
| 7. | After inversion | |
| A-t-on osé ? | [ah to(n) oh zay] | |
| Parlez-vous espagnol ? | [par lay voo eh spah nyuhl] | |
| Ont-elles étudié ? | [o(n) teh lay too dyay] | |
| Vont-ils habiter bien ? | [vo(n) tee lah bee tay byeh(n)] | |
* Note that the pronunciation of the z in onze at the beginning of enfants is enchaînement, not a liaison.
** Also see required liaisons and optional liaisons
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