Pronunciation of the Letter T in French
Introduction
In French, the letter "t" has several pronunciation features depending on its position in the word and surrounding letters.
Understanding these rules will help you improve your French accent and listening comprehension!
Pronunciation Rules for T
The letter "t" is pronounced in two main ways:
- [t] as in "table" - voiceless dental sound
- [s] as in "nation" - sibilant sound in certain combinations
The general rule is as follows:
- The "t" is pronounced [t] in most cases
- The "t" is pronounced [s] in the combinations "tion", "tiel", "tieux", "tia"
- The "t" can be silent in certain cases, especially at the end of words
- The "t" is pronounced differently in a few specific combinations
Examples with the [t] sound
| Position | Examples |
|---|---|
| At the beginning of a word |
table travail (work) temps (time) |
| In the middle of a word |
atelier (workshop) étoile (star) utile (useful) |
| After a consonant |
reste (remainder) porte (door) carte (card) |
| Double t (tt) |
attendre (to wait) lettre (letter) attention (attention) |
Examples with the [s] sound
| Combination | Examples |
|---|---|
| -tion |
nation [nasjɔ̃] attention [atɑ̃sjɔ̃] conversation [kɔ̃vɛʁsasjɔ̃] |
| -tiel/-tieux |
essentiel [esɑ̃sjɛl] (essential) partiel [paʁsjɛl] (partial) ambitieux [ɑ̃bisjø] (ambitious) |
| -tia- |
initiation [inisjasj] spatial [spasjal] patient [pasjɑ̃] |
Silent T
In many cases, the final "t" is not pronounced in French:
- At the end of most words: chat (cat), petit (small), tout (all)
- In most conjugated verbs: ils parlent (they speak), il est (he is), il avait (he had)
Exception: The final "t" is pronounced in certain words such as:
- Words of foreign origin: net, brut, mat
- Certain numbers: sept [sɛt] (seven), huit [ɥit] (eight) (when standing alone)
- A few other cases: sud-est (southeast), fait (fact - noun), direct
Special Cases
The "th" combination
In French, "th" is simply pronounced [t]:
- théâtre (theater) - [teatʁ]
- thé (tea) - [te]
- mathématiques (mathematics) - [matematik]
The liaison T
During liaison, "t" is generally pronounced [t]:
- petit_ami (boyfriend) - [pə.ti-ta-mi]
- tout_à fait (exactly) - [tu-ta-fɛ]
- c'est_un (it's a) - [sɛ-tœ̃]
The "ti" + vowel combination
In certain words, the "ti" combination followed by a vowel is pronounced [tj] and not [sj]:
- tiens (here) - [tjɛ̃]
- soutien (support) - [sutjɛ̃]
- amitié (friendship) - [amitje]
Pronunciation Exercises
1. Simple repetition
Listen and repeat these words with the [t] sound:
-
table, porter (to carry), étoile (star), attendre (to wait), atelier (workshop)
Listen and repeat these words with the [s] sound:
-
nation, patience, essentiel (essential), initiation, ambitieux (ambitious)
2. Training sentences
Repeat these sentences:
-
"Thomas travaille tous les jours dans cette tour." (Thomas works every day in this tower.)
-
"La nation entière attend avec impatience cette célébration." (The entire nation eagerly awaits this celebration.)
-
"C'est un petit enfant très intelligent." (He's a very intelligent little child.)
3. Mini-dialogue
- Théo, as-tu terminé ton travail pour la présentation de demain ?
(Theo, have you finished your work for tomorrow's presentation?)
- Pas tout à fait, j'attends toujours les informations essentielles de notre partenaire.
(Not quite, I'm still waiting for the essential information from our partner.)
- Tu devrais peut-être téléphoner maintenant, il est sept heures et le temps presse !
(You should perhaps call now, it's seven o'clock and time is running out!)
Final Exercise
Note all the words where "t" is pronounced [s] in this text:
Toute notre attention était portée sur cette démonstration spatiale.
Les ambitions nationales reposaient sur cette opération essentielle.
Avec patience, les scientifiques observaient l'évolution de cette situation délicate.
Cette initiation aux mathématiques était vraiment captivante pour les étudiants internationaux.
Translation: All our attention was focused on this space demonstration. National ambitions rested on this essential operation. With patience, scientists observed the evolution of this delicate situation. This introduction to mathematics was truly captivating for international students.
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