French Phonemes

This chart provides a detailed comparison of the phonemes used in French, covering both Standard French (fr-FR) and Canadian French (fr-CA). Each entry includes the phoneme symbol in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) and X-SAMPA, along with an example word and its transcription in both systems.

Both dialects share a foundational phoneme inventory but differ in their use of certain vowels, diphthongs, and intonation. Canadian French also reflects influences from English and regional speech patterns, which are captured here. This resource is useful for learners, linguists, and developers working on pronunciation, language education, or speech applications. Stress is not contrastive in French, so only syllable boundaries are marked.

French (France) – fr-FR

X-SAMPA	IPA	Example Word	X-SAMPA Transcription	IPA Transcription
b	b	beau	bo	bo
d	d	dodu	dody	dody
f	f	fil	fil	fil
g	g	gâteau	gato	gato
?	ʔ	haricot	?aRiko	ʔaʁiko
k	k	cassé	kase	kase
l	l	loi	lwa	lwa
m	m	mou	mu	mu
n	n	nounou	nunu	nunu
p	p	poli	poli	poli
R	ʁ	carré	kaRe	kaʁe
S	ʃ	chat	Sa	ʃa
s	s	savon	savO~	savɔ̃
t	t	tri	tRi	tʁi
v	v	vallée	vale	vale
Z	ʒ	jouet	ZuE	ʒuɛ
z	z	prison	pRizO~	pʁizɔ̃
a	a	salé	sale	sale
E	ɛ	cher	SER	ʃɛʁ
e	e	parlé	paRle	paʁle
i	i	midi	midi	midi
O	ɔ	sort	sOR	sɔʁ
o	o	bateau	bato	bato
u	u	nougat	nuga	nuga
y	y	bu	by	by
2	ø	peu	p2	pø
9	œ	neuf	n9f	nœf
@	ə	apprenez / jeûnaient	apR@ne / Z@nEt	apʁəne / ʒənɛt
A~	ɑ̃	gant	gA~	gɑ̃
E~	ɛ̃	main	mE~	mɛ̃
O~	ɔ̃	savon	savO~	savɔ̃

French (Canada) – fr-CA

X-SAMPA	IPA	Example Word	X-SAMPA Transcription	IPA Transcription
b	b	bas	bA	bɑ
d	d	aida	i:dA	iːdɑ
f	f	alpha	alfA	alfɑ
g	g	gars	gA	gɑ
?	ʔ	hâte	?At@	ʔɑtə
H	ɥ	lui	lHi	lɥi
j	j	oeil	9j	œj
k	k	cas	kA	kɑ
l	l	là	lA	lɑ
m	m	mat	mA	mɑ
n	n	nounou	nunu	nunu
p	p	pas	pA	pɑ
R	ʁ	carré	kARe	kɑʁe
s	s	plaça	plasA	plasɑ
S	ʃ	chat	SA	ʃɑ
t	t	tas	tA	tas
v	v	va	vA	vɑ
w	w	Louis	lwi	lwi
z	z	plaza	plazA	plazɑ
Z	ʒ	jardin	ZaRdE~	ʒaʁdɛ̃
h	h	Whitehorse	?wajthOrs	ʔwajthɔrs
5	ɫ	Devils	dEv95z	dɛvœɫz
r	r	Rogers	rOdZ9rz	rɔdʒœrz
a	a	patte	pat@	patə
a:	aː	Danny	da:ni	daːni
A	ɑ	pâte	pAt@	pɑtə
A~	ɑ̃	gant	gA~	gɑ̃
E	ɛ	faite	fEt@	fɛtə
E:	ɛː	fête	fE:t@	fɛːtə
e	e	parlé	paRle	paʁle
E~	ɛ̃	main	mE~	mɛ̃
i	i	midi	midi	midi
O	ɔ	sort	sOR	sɔʁ
O~	ɔ̃	savon	savO~	savɔ̃
o	o	bateau	bato	bato
u	u	nougat	nugA	nugɑ
y	y	bu	by	by
2	ø	peu	p2	pø
9	œ	neuf	n9f	nœf
@	ə	acheter	aS@te	aʃəte
i:	iː	bean	bi:n	biːn
I	ɪ	Dylan	dIl9n	dɪlœn
O:	ɔː	hockey	?O:ke	ʔɔːke
u:	uː	cool	ku:l	kuːl

Stress Symbols

Function	IPA	X-SAMPA
Syllable boundary	.	.