Y

French vowel and semi-vowel

The letter Y, though uncommon, can be a vowel or semi-vowel in French.

• In front of a consonant or on its own as an adverbial pronoun, Y is a vowel and is pronounced like the French I. Phonetic symbol: [i]
• In front of a vowel, it’s a semi-vowel and is pronounced like the English Y. This occurs mainly in words borrowed from other languages. Phonetic symbol: [j]

the letter y
y		there
Yves		(first name)
les yeux		eyes
le yaourt		yogurt

Y can also be a nasal vowel, as in sympa (nice) – see nasal I.

 Related lessons

• Introduction to semi-vowels
• Introduction to vowels
• French alphabet
• Adverbial pronouns

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