How Is the Letter A Pronounced in French

The letter A is as common in the French language as it is in English. You will often use this letter alone, or with an accent grave, or in a number of combinations alongside other letters. Each instance has a slightly different pronunciation and this French lesson will help you learn each. How to Pronounce the French Letter A The pronunciation of the letter A in French is fairly straightforward. It is usually pronounced more or less like the A in father, but with the lips wider in French than in English: listen. An A  with the accent grave  Ãƒ  Ã‚  is pronounced the same way. The A  is sometimes pronounced further back in the mouth and with the lips more rounded than for the A sound described above: listen. This sound is becoming obsolete, but technically should be pronounced when the letter A: is followed by a Z sound as in  base and  gazis followed by a silent S  as in  bas and  cas, with the  exception of  brasincludes the accent circonflexe ˆ as in pà ¢tes and  Ãƒ ¢ne French Words With A Now that you know how to pronounce the various As in French, its time to practice. Click on each of these words to hear the pronunciation and repeat it as often as you need to. Notice the difference between the sound when its used in the various contexts weve discussed. quatre  (four)ami  (friend)agrà ©able  (nice)tabac  (tobacco shop)soulager  (to relieve)pà ¢tes  (pasta)bas  (low)bras  (arm) Letter Combinations With A The letter A is also used in combination with other vowels and consonants to produce specific sounds in French. Its much like how the A in apple is different than the A in  taught in English. To continue your French pronunciation lessons, explore these A combinations: AI / AIS: Pronounced like the French  ÃƒË†.AIL: Pronounced  [ahy], similar to the English  eye.AN: Pronounced [ah(n)], the  ah  sounds like  Ãƒ  Ã‚  and the n has a nasal sound. As in  tante  (aunt).AU: Pronounced like a closed O in a similar manner to eau.EAU: Pronounced like au with a closed O.