5.2: The Letter G

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 two ways to pronounce the letter g with vowels.

    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 study!

    The letter g can be pronounced [g] or [ʒ]. It's the letter after the g that determines its pronunciation. The same rule applies to the letter c.

    g + a, o, u = [g]

    Like English, the g in ga, go, gu is pronounced [g], like in:

     

    gâteau, Hugo, aigu.

    If a vowel follows gu-, you will pronounce that vowel:

     

    guide, guerre, Guy. (The letter u is not pronounced.)

    At the end of a word, -gue is pronounced [g]:

     

    figue, blague, langue. (The letter u is not pronounced.)

    g + e, i, y = [ʒ]

    The g in ge, gi, gy is pronounced [ʒ], like in neige, girafe, gym.

    If there is a vowel after ge-, you will pronounce that vowel without pronouncing the e: pigeon, mangeais, courageux.

    Let's practice!

    Activity A

    Listen and repeat:

     

    1. figue / sage / plage / blague / orgue / page / mangue
    2. guide / gauche / gîte / gosse / visage / pirogue / saga / sagesse
    3. aigu / léger / figure / danger / légume / gingembre
    4. vague / songe / juge / blogue / orge / tige / algue
    5. golf / geai / orage / collègue / bloguer / bouger / congé
    6. gorille / girafe / agacer / agence / étagère / courageux / catalogue

    Activity B

    Underline all the words that have the [ʒ] sound. Circle all the words with the [g] sound.

     

    1. gorge / gérer / guerre / guère / gymnasie / brigade
    2. giffler / négation / nigérien / piège / gante / horloge

    "Prononciation de « go, ga, gu » vs. « ge, gi, gy »" by William Carrasco & Shahrzad Zahedi is licensed under CC BY 4.0 / A derivative from Sons et lettres by Stephen Walton

    This page titled 5.2: The Letter G was last modified on Fri, 09 May 2025 21:41:50 GMT and is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by William J. Carrasco and Shahrzad Zahedi.