RULES OF PRONUNCIATION

Consonants
h is never pronounced: habiter
final s, x, t, z are not pronounced:
j sounds like the g in sabotage: gymnastique
is always pronounced as s: garon
g is hard like in "go" when it comes before an a, o, or u; is soft
like the g in sabotage when it comes before an e, i or y
qu makes a k sound as in kill: quand
ch sounds like the sh sound in short: chambre
th sounds like t, not th: the
gn sounds like n in onion: montagne
s between two vowels is pronounced as z: oiseau
- double s is pronounced as s
Vowels
- sounds like the ay in say
, - both make the short e sound as in set
final e is not pronounced, except when it follows r or l or n:
then e is pronounced as uh but is very short, e.g. quatre
i - always sounds like the long e sound in seed
o, au, eau - sounds like the long o in goat: oiseau, aussi
ou - like the oo in food
u like the word you
y - sounds like the long e in seed
ai is pronounced eh
Combinations of vowel sounds in a single syllable
an, am, en, em, un, um, in, im - pronounced with a strong
nasal sound, e.g. cousin
the same combinations are pronounced normally if there is an
e after the consonant, e.g. Marine, cousine
oi - this combinations sounds like wa in walk, oiseau
oui- should sound like wee
oe and eu sound like the German , eg. Oeil-yeux

Other combinations
ent (at the end of a verb in the they form) is not pronounced,
e.g. ils chantent
ill is pronounced as a long ee, e.g. fille, with the exception of ville,
mille, tranquille
tion (at the end of a noun) is pronounced ssion, e.g. meditation