Homophones
spelling
Learn some of the particularities of French spelling.
How to Type Accents in Any OS
In- Prefix
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet, or IPA, is a set of characters used to standardize pronunciation explanations across languages. It uses a unique symbol for each sound, which makes discussions of different languages much easier. IPA – Consonants
French has a total of 20 French consonant sounds, and thus 20 IPA symbols for these sounds. However, three of these sounds are only in words borrowed from other languages and one is very rare, so there are really just 16 French essential consonant sounds. IPA – Vowels
French has 19 different vowel sounds and therefore 19 IPA symbols for vowels, divided into three categories: normal vowels, nasal vowels, and semi-vowels. Irregular Adjectives
Five French adjectives (beau, fou, mou, nouveau, vieux) are particularly tricky because they have very irregular feminine forms as well as a special form used only for certain masculine nouns. A2 - Low-Intermediate French • adjectives • spelling
Nouns and Adjectives: Irregular Feminine Forms
Most French nouns and adjectives become feminine with the addition of -e, but there are some exceptions. Some nouns require an additional spelling change, depending on the final letter(s) of the word. adjectives • agreement • gender • nouns • spelling
Nouns and Adjectives: Irregular Plurals
Most French nouns and adjectives become plural with the addition of -s, but of course there are exceptions. A2 - Low-Intermediate French • adjectives • agreement • nouns • plurals • spelling
ΠLigature
When the letters o and e are pronounced as a single sound, they combine into a symbol called a ligature: œ. The pronunciation of this symbol depends on the letter(s) that follow it.