Liaison – the silent consonant wakes up
French words are not spoken one by one but flow into each other. English tends to leave a tiny gap before a vowel at the start of a word (the | apple). French has no such gap: a final consonant slides straight onto the vowel of the next word.
les amis
[[lez‿ami]]
the friends
The linked sound does not always match the letter: s and x sound like a voiced z, and d sounds like t.
Letter and liaison sound
| Written | Linked | Example |
|---|---|---|
| s, x, z | z | deux heures [døz‿œʁ] |
| t, d | t | grand arbre [ɡʁɑ̃t‿aʁbʁ] |
| n | n | on arrive [ɔ̃n‿aʁiv] |
Wann bindet man?
In these cases you always link. The words belong closely together, and without the link the sentence sounds wrong.
un enfant
[[œ̃n‿ɑ̃fɑ̃]]
a child
article + noun
trois ans
[[tʁwaz‿ɑ̃]]
three years
number + noun
nous avons
[[nuz‿avɔ̃]]
we have
pronoun + verb
ils ont
[[ilz‿ɔ̃]]
they have
pronoun + verb
un petit hôtel
[[œ̃ pətit‿otɛl]]
a small hotel
adjective + noun
chez elle
[[ʃez‿ɛl]]
at her place
short word + vowel
très intéressant
[[tʁɛz‿ɛ̃teʁesɑ̃]]
very interesting
short word + vowel
Enchaînement – the spoken consonant slides on
If a final consonant is pronounced anyway, it simply slides onto the next word before a vowel. No new sound appears; the words just run together.
une amie
[[yn‿ami]]
a friend (female)
elle arrive
[[ɛl‿aʁiv]]
she arrives
il a
[[il‿a]]
he has
Where you do not link
One sound decides
les héros
[[le eʁo]]
the heroes (no liaison)
les zéros
[[le zeʁo]]
the zeros
Whole sentences
Say it in one breath
Nous avons deux enfants.
[[nuz‿avɔ̃ døz‿ɑ̃fɑ̃]]
We have two children.
Il habite dans un petit appartement.
[[il‿abit dɑ̃z‿œ̃ pətit‿apaʁtəmɑ̃]]
He lives in a small apartment.
Vous êtes très aimable.
[[vuz‿ɛt tʁɛz‿ɛmabl]]
You are very kind.
Les enfants sont chez un ami.
[[lez‿ɑ̃fɑ̃ sɔ̃ ʃez‿œ̃n‿ami]]
The children are at a friend’s place.
