French Nasal Vowels: AN, EN, IN, ON, UN
Hear and produce French nasal vowels without adding an audible “n” or “m” at the end.
What you’ll learn Hear and produce French nasal vowels without adding an audible “n” or “m” at the end.
Key ideas (keep these in your head) • A nasal vowel is a single vowel sound with nasal resonance — not “vowel + n”. • Nasalisation usually happens when a vowel is followed by n/m not followed by another vowel (vin, bon, sans). • If n/m is doubled (nn/mm) or followed by a vowel, the vowel is usually not nasal (année, une amie).
Real examples (French → what you often hear → English) • C’est un bon vin. → c’est un bon vin → It’s a good wine. • Il prend du pain le matin. → il prend du pain le matin → He has bread in the morning. • On a du temps demain. → on a du temps demain → We have time tomorrow.
Drills an–en sans, enfant, temps, grand, vraiment on bon, nom, non, long, tomber in vin, pain, matin, plein, important un un, brun, parfum, chacun, lundi
Common mistakes (and quick fixes) • Adding a final N: bon → “bo-n”. Fix: hold the vowel and stop cleanly without closing into “n”. • Over‐nasalising (too much nose): open the mouth slightly and keep the vowel steady. • Trusting spelling over sound: train categories by ear first; spelling becomes easier later.
Quick self-check Record: un/une, bon/bonne, vin/vite, brun/brune. You should hear a clean contrast between nasal and non‐nasal pairs.
About this lesson
How to practise “French Nasal Vowels: AN, EN, IN, ON, UN”
This débutant lesson is part of the Pronunciation series on Chase in French. Train your ear and mouth on the sounds that make French French — nasal vowels, liaison, the R, and the rhythm patterns native speakers actually use.
Follow the Ears → Mouth → Eyes method: first listen to how native speakers say it, then repeat it out loud until it feels natural, and only then look at the spelling. Plan about 20 minutes, and come back to it over several days — short, repeated practice beats one long session.
Want guided feedback on your accent? The Chase in French Academy and live classes turn lessons like this into structured training, and the weekly podcast lets you hear these patterns in real conversation.
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