The French words English speakers mispronounce in French
You're at a café telling your friends about your week, and your French friends gently correct, one after another, the words your English accent has twisted.
The phrase
Il y a un écureuil qui grimpe dans le grand arbre.10 words10 sentences
The ten words
- écureuil/ekyʁœj/
squirrelnoun
Small reddish animal with a bushy tail that climbs trees and eats nuts.
- grenouille/ɡʁənuj/
frognoun
Small green animal with smooth skin, that jumps and lives near water.
- serrurier/sɛʁyʁje/
locksmithnoun
Person whose job is to make and open locks.
- fusil/fyzi/
riflenoun
Long weapon used to fire bullets or shot.
- juillet/ʒɥijɛ/
Julynoun
Seventh month of the year, between June and August.
- montagne/mɔ̃taɲ/
mountainnoun
Very large elevation of earth and rock, much higher than a hill.
- cueillir/kœjiʁ/
to pickverb
To detach by hand a flower, fruit or leaf from the plant.
- chercher/ʃɛʁʃe/
to look forverb
To try to find something or someone.
- brun/bʁɛ̃/
brownadjective
A dark color close to brown, like earth or coffee.
- plein/plɛ̃/
lots ofadverb
Used to say there is a lot of something, in everyday speech.
The sentences
Il y a un écureuil qui grimpe dans le grand arbre.
There's a squirrel climbing the big tree.
Une grenouille énorme a sauté juste devant moi hier soir.
A huge frog jumped right in front of me last night.
Hier, on a dû appeler un serrurier pour ouvrir la porte.
Yesterday we had to call a locksmith to open the door.
Son oncle garde encore un vieux fusil de chasse au grenier.
His uncle still keeps an old hunting rifle in the attic.
Ils partent en vacances au début du mois de juillet.
They're leaving on vacation at the start of July.
On a passé une semaine à la montagne cet été.
We spent a week in the mountains this summer.
Tu veux venir cueillir des fraises avec nous demain matin ?
Do you want to come pick strawberries with us tomorrow morning?
Tu peux venir me chercher à la gare ce soir ?
Can you come pick me up at the station tonight?
Il portait un gros manteau brun et un chapeau noir.
He was wearing a big brown coat and a black hat.
Il y avait plein de monde au marché ce matin.
There were tons of people at the market this morning.
Pronunciation
écureuil/ekyʁœj/
The u is pronounced with rounded, tight lips, never like ou; the ending rhymes with œil.
grenouille/ɡʁənuj/
The ending sounds like in fouille: the final e is silent.
serrurier/sɛʁyʁje/
Only three syllables: the first e is open, è, and the middle u is not ou.
fusil/fyzi/
The final l is silent, and the u is the one in tu: /fyzi/.
juillet/ʒɥijɛ/
The final t is silent and the last vowel is open, è.
montagne/mɔ̃taɲ/
The on is nasal: no n is pronounced after the o, and gn is said /ɲ/ as in agneau.
cueillir/kœjiʁ/
Despite the spelling, the start sounds like in cœur.
brun/bʁɛ̃/
The n is not pronounced: the vowel is nasal and today sounds like the one in brin.
plein/plɛ̃/
-ein is a nasal vowel: you hear neither the n nor an i.
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Get the Pass7 days free, then USD 5.99 a monthToday's words are freeQuestions
- How do you pronounce écureuil in French?
- It's said /ekyʁœj/: the u is pronounced with rounded, tight lips, never like ou, and the ending rhymes with œil.
- What does cueillir mean?
- To pick a flower, fruit or leaf by hand from the plant.
- How do you say "can you come pick me up" in French?
- Tu peux venir me chercher à la gare ce soir ?