Silent middle consonants in French in French
You read common French words aloud where a consonant is written in the middle of the word but not pronounced.
The phrase
En automne, les feuilles tombent dans le parc.10 words10 sentences
The ten words
- automne/otɔn/
autumnnoun
The season between summer and winter.
- compter/kɔ̃te/
to countverb
To calculate how many there are.
- compte/kɔ̃t/
accountnoun
Money kept in your name at a bank.
- sculpter/skylte/
to sculptverb
To carve a material into a shape.
- baptême/batɛm/
baptismnoun
A Christian ceremony of entry into the Church.
- condamner/kɔ̃dane/Also said kɔ̃dɑne.
to sentenceverb
To punish someone by a court's decision.
- rythme/ʁitm/
rhythmnoun
The regular return of strong beats.
- oignon/ɔɲɔ̃/Also said waɲɔ̃.
onionnoun
A round vegetable made of layers, with a strong smell, that makes you cry when you cut it.
- exempt/ɛɡzɑ̃/Also said ɛɡzɑ̃pt.
exemptadjective
Freed from an obligation.
- promptement/pʁɔ̃tmɑ̃/
promptlyadverb
Quickly and without delay.
The sentences
En automne, les feuilles tombent dans le parc.
In autumn, the leaves fall in the park.
Tu peux compter les chaises dans la salle ?
Can you count the chairs in the room?
Je voudrais ouvrir un compte bancaire, s'il vous plaît.
I'd like to open a bank account, please.
Mon grand-père aime sculpter le bois le soir.
My grandfather likes to carve wood in the evening.
On est invités au baptême de ma nièce.
We're invited to my niece's baptism.
Le juge peut le condamner à une lourde amende.
The judge can sentence him to a heavy fine.
Cette chanson a un rythme très facile à suivre.
This song has a rhythm that's very easy to follow.
Tu peux couper un oignon pour la soupe ?
Can you cut an onion for the soup?
Vous êtes exempt de frais cette année.
You're exempt from fees this year.
Le service client a répondu très promptement hier.
Customer service replied very promptly yesterday.
Pronunciation
automne/otɔn/
The m is silent: it's said like 'o-tonne'.
compter/kɔ̃te/
The p is silent: it sounds like 'conter'.
compte/kɔ̃t/
The p is silent and 'om' is said with a nasal sound, without an m; the final t is pronounced.
sculpter/skylte/
The p is silent, but the l is pronounced: 'skul-té'.
baptême/batɛm/
The p is silent: it's said 'ba-tème'.
condamner/kɔ̃dane/
The 'mn' group is pronounced as a single n: 'kon-da-né'.
rythme/ʁitm/
The th is said like a plain t, as in 'ta'.
oignon/ɔɲɔ̃/
The oi is said /ɔ/, not /wa/: you hear 'o-gnon', and the ending is nasal.
exempt/ɛɡzɑ̃/
The p and the final t are silent: the word ends on the sound of 'temps'.
promptement/pʁɔ̃tmɑ̃/
The t is heard just before the m: 'pronte-man'.
Good to know
- liaison
- In French, a silent consonant at the end of a word can be heard before a vowel that follows, as in vous êtes. That's not the case for silent consonants in the middle of a word, like in automne or baptême.
- accent régional
- The way certain words are pronounced can vary slightly from one region of France to another. The pronunciations given here match standard French as spoken in Paris.
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Past days are part of the Pass. Practice the first 3 of the 10 words free, or all of them with the Pass.
Get the Pass7 days free, then USD 5.99 a monthToday's words are freeQuestions
- How do you say autumn in French?
- You say automne, and the m in the middle is silent.
- What does compte mean in French?
- It's a bank account, money kept in your name at a bank.
- Why isn't the p in baptême pronounced?
- Some French words have a silent consonant in the middle, like the p in baptême, so it's said 'ba-tème'.