10.3: The Vowel [ɔ̃]- ON, OM

French OER - Pronunciation · LibreTexts

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    From LibreTexts, under CC BY, as the source states it; its equations are written in TeX, which the PDF shows typeset. This page at LibreTexts.

    Objectif

    In this section, you will learn how to pronounce the vowel sound [ɔ̃].

    Media Alternative

    Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.

    In the audio players, you can slow down the audio by clicking on the turtle and speed up by clicking on the rabbit. The turtle and rabbit are located at the bottom right corner of each audio player. 

    Let's get started!

    The graphemes on and om are pronounced [ɔ̃] as in:

     

    ton, fond, salon, contrôle

    nom, ombre, complet, tombe

    Exception

    When on or om are followed by an e or when the consonants n and m are doubled up (e.g., nn, or mm), they are no longer nasal vowels. Compare for example:

     

    When nasal vowels are not nasal
    Nasal Vowel Word with Nasal Sound with added -e with double consonant (-nn, -mm)
    on ton clone, drone bonne, personne, connard
    om nom dome, atome somme, homme

    Let's practice!

    Activity A

    Listen and repeat.

     

    1. ton, rond, monde, honte
    2. leçon, maison, camion, question,
    3. tonton, bonbon, songer, front
    4. compte, complète, comble, tomber
    5. comptabilité, nombre, pompier, considérer

    Activity B

    Listen and repeat.

     

    1. bon, bonne
    2. son, sonne
    3. pom, pomme
    4. nom, nommer
    5. ton, tonnerre

    This page titled 10.3: The Vowel [ɔ̃]- ON, OM was last modified on Fri, 09 May 2025 22:18:48 GMT and is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by William J. Carrasco and Shahrzad Zahedi.