85 - 5 French Homophones (Part II)

 
 

In this episode, you’ll learn another 5 sets of French homophones. A homophone is a word that has the exact same pronunciation as another word, but has a different meaning and spelling. (eg. laid / lait.)

If you’d prefer to listen on the go, listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Links & Cheat Sheet

Transcript

Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!

Bonjour à tous!

Welcome back to the French Made Easy Podcast. This is episode number 85, numéro 85!

This episode is another pronunciation episode and part II of our lesson on French homophones.

So today, you'll learn another five sets of French homophones. 

Just to recap, in case you haven't listened to last week's episode yet, a homophone is a word that has the same pronunciation as another word. But with a different meaning and spelling. 

And in today's lesson, same as last week, we're are going to deconstruct the pronunciation of these words so you can understand better why they're pronounced the same way, even though they aren't spelled the same. 

Alright, so if you're new here, make sure you have your lesson's cheat sheet in front of you so you can see the words while listening to the lesson. It's pretty useful for this episode as you won't be able to differentiate between the words as they sound the same. 

The download link is in the episode notes, on the podcast platform you're listening to. After the lesson, head over to the French Made Easy library to download your lesson's exercises. It's free. 

Let's get started.

Our first set of words is:

  • [ku] cou / coup / coût

Both of them are pronounced [ku] and have different meanings. And by the way, I had this question last week so I think I should mention it here, but to differentiate these words in speech, because you're not able to see the spelling, context is key!

1. cou (neck)

2. coup (punch, kick, shot)

3. coût (cost)

In these three words, the letter "c" is pronounced [k], and the letter "o+u" together are pronounced [u] and the final consonants, "p" and "t" are silent!

A quick note, I talked about it in last's week's episode, but in case you haven't listened to it yet: Just keep in mind that it's not because, in a particular word, a letter is pronounced a certain way that it's always pronounced the same way. So the "C" is not always pronounced [k] for example. It all depends on where the letter or group of letters, are located inside the word. One letter or group of letters can have many different sounds, as well as being silent.

More on this inside my pronunciation course, French Pronunciation Made Easy.

Second set of homophones:

  • [fɛ̃] faim / fin

1. faim (hunger)

2. fin (end)

In both words, the letter "f" is pronounced [f] and the letters "aim" together and "in" together in this words are pronounced [ɛ̃]

3rd set:

  • [fwa] foi / foie / fois

1. foi (faith)

2. foie (liver)

3. fois (time)

In these 3 words, the letter [f] as we've learned is pronounced [f], and the letter "oi" together are pronounced [wa]. The final letters "e" and "s" are silent.

4th set of homophones:

  • [bu] boue / bout

1. boue (mud)

2. bout (tip, piece, end)

In these 2 words, the letter "b" is pronounced [b] and the letters "o+u" together are pronounced [u]. The final letters "e" and "t" are silent.

I know, I know, so much silent letters!

Last set:

  • [mɛr] maire/ mère / mer

1. maire (mayor)

2. mère (mother)

3. mer (sea)

In this 3 words, the letter "m" is pronounced [m], the letters "ai" together, è with an grave accent and the letter "E" from the third word are pronounced [ɛ], the r is pronounced [r] and the final vowel "E" at the end of the two first words are silent.

And that's now the end of today's episode. I hope you enjoyed it! If want to improve your French pronunciation, and you're interested in learning the framework I use to teach French pronunciation to my students, head over to mathildekien.com/webinar to register for my free class: 5 Steps to Clear French Pronunciation.

I'll chat with you next week! Next week's we'll have a cute episode on the most beautiful French words, according to the French Made Easy community!

Merci beaucoup, et à bientôt!

 
Mathilde KienComment