French Pronunciation Mouth Position Guide
A single-page reference to the French mouth positions English speakers struggle with most.
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This page is the quick-reference version of the problem. If your French still sounds heavily English, these four sound families are where I would look first: u, eu, the French r, and the nasal vowels. Each one asks the mouth to move in a way English does not train by default.
The four sound panels
- U
- EU
- R
- Nasal vowel
The common mistake behind all four
Trying to sound French while keeping the mouth in a comfortable English setting. That almost never works for long.
Quick practice
- Practice one word per sound.
- Practice one phrase per sound.
Where to use this guide
- one sound at a time
- then full phrase transfer
Why this works
This page groups the four sound families that consistently show up in overviews of standard French phonology: rounded front vowels, nasal vowels, the uvular r, and connected phrase-level timing. French phonology on Wikipedia is a useful baseline for that inventory, while Lawless French's liaison guide gives the learner-facing explanation for one of the main connected-speech patterns.
Where to go next
Open the detailed cards for French U vs OU mouth position, French EU pronunciation mouth position, French R throat pronunciation guide, and French nasal vowels pronunciation chart. The companion article French pronunciation for English speakers gives you the longer explanation.
Practice Inside Spokira
Start with one sound, then practice the full phrase in Spokira.
