The homophones: vert, verre, vers in French

1. 1
   vert/vɛʁ/

   greenadjective

   The colour of grass and leaves.
2. 2
   verre/vɛʁ/

   glassnoun

   A small transparent container you drink from.
3. 3
   vers/vɛʁ/

   line (of verse)noun

   A line of a poem.
4. 4
   ver/vɛʁ/

   wormnoun

   A small, soft, legless animal that often lives in the ground.
5. 5
   mer/mɛʁ/

   seanoun

   A large body of salt water.
6. 6
   mère/mɛʁ/

   mothernoun

   A woman who has one or more children.
7. 7
   maire/mɛʁ/

   mayornoun

   A person elected to lead a town.
8. 8
   sain/sɛ̃/

   healthyadjective

   In good health.
9. 9
   faim/fɛ̃/

   hungernoun

   The need to eat that you feel in your body.
10. 10
    fin/fɛ̃/

    thinadjective

    Thin, not thick.

The sentences

1. Le feu est vert, vous pouvez traverser maintenant.

   The light is green, you can cross now.

2. Je vais prendre un verre de vin rouge.

   I'll have a glass of red wine.

3. Ce poème est très beau, surtout les derniers vers.

   This poem is beautiful, especially the last lines.

4. Un ver de terre est sorti après la pluie.

   An earthworm came out after the rain.

5. On va se baigner dans la mer ce matin ?

   Shall we go swimming in the sea this morning?

6. Ma mère habite près de la mer depuis dix ans.

   My mother has lived near the sea for ten years.

7. Le maire est venu inaugurer la nouvelle école.

   The mayor came to open the new school.

8. Mon médecin dit que je suis parfaitement sain.

   My doctor says I'm perfectly healthy.

9. Vous avez faim ? On peut manger tout de suite.

   Are you hungry? We can eat right away.

10. Ce papier est trop fin pour imprimer des photos.

    This paper is too thin to print photos on.

Pronunciation

• vert/vɛʁ/

  The final t is silent: the word ends on the r sound.

• verre/vɛʁ/

  The two r's make only one sound.

• vers/vɛʁ/

  The final s is silent: it's said the same as 'vert'.

• maire/mɛʁ/

  The letters ai are said /ɛ/, exactly like the è in 'mère'.

• sain/sɛ̃/

  The n isn't pronounced: the vowel is nasal, /sɛ̃/.

• faim/fɛ̃/

  The m isn't pronounced; the vowel is nasal, /fɛ̃/.

• fin/fɛ̃/

  Said exactly like 'faim', without sounding the n.

Questions

What's the difference between vert and verre?

Vert is the colour of grass, as in the sentence about the green light. Verre is a drinking glass, as in the sentence about a glass of wine.

How do you pronounce faim?

Faim is pronounced /fɛ̃/, exactly like fin: the m is silent and the vowel is nasal.

What does vers mean here?

Vers means a line of a poem, as in 'les derniers vers' of a beautiful poem.