How to Learn French - same but different

Hopefully since the last post you’ve reflected on the sentence below, which contains all four nasal vowels. A nasal vowel is a vowel followed by an ‘n’ or an ‘m’, as you may remember.

This post is devoted to those nasal vowels followed by ‘m’s, as well as some variations in spelling, for nasal vowels containing both ‘n’s and ‘m’s.

The good news is, there’s really nothing new to learn here, as these nasal sounds are pronounced exactly as those above. You will, see, however, that our grid has a bit more girth these days, which I hope you’ll perceive as a broadening of your pronunciation skills.

The aim today, therefore, is simply to notice this fact, and of course, have fun choosing your anchor words. Allez-y*!

There are very few words containing this sound, but here’s one you likely know.

humble

For those of you with eagle eyes, you’ll have now realised that the following two words are pronounced exactly the same:

non
nom

I hope this is reassuring to you, reducing, as it does, the options for pronunciation.

Here are some other words containing om that you may know:

comptable
ombre
comptoir
plombier

This sound certainly spreads itself around and is found in the following spellings. Remember, all of these sounds are pronounced exactly the same as the in in vin, despite the various ways they appear on the page.

pain
faim
plein
Reims*
syndicat
sympa

Okay, okay, this most particular of place names does break the rules of pronunciation, I admit, but probably not where you think it does. It is just the pronouncing of the final ‘s’ that is unusual. The rest of the word conforms to the rules and is therefore pronounced similarly to the word ‘dance’ in Australian English (that is, if you don’t pronounce it ‘dahnce’. Tu vois*? English is aberrant, aussi*!)

Remember, these nasal vowels rhyme with those found in enfant, which, helpfully, rhyme with one another.

jambon
framboise
champignon
ambulance

exemple
embouteillage
embrasser
température


Et voilà*! I hope you can see the strides you’re making now that we’ve laid the foundations of French pronunciation. See you next month for more!

*Let’s go! | *You see | *as well | *And there you go

Quel est ton roman français préféré?

With the cooler weather (and relentless rain!), now’s the perfect time to settle in with a good book. We know we have plenty of *rats de bibliothèque among our chouchous, so we thought we’d give you some recommendations from *l’équipe. *En français, bien sûr!

(Not up for the challenge? You can also snap up English versions for most of our picks online.)

*Library rats – the French expression for bookworm! | *the team | *In French, of course!

Raclette

Cheese (and carb) lovers, rejoice – raclette season is officially here! Derived from the French verb *’racler’ meaning ‘to scrape’, the ultimate comfort dish features oozy, melted cheese scraped with a spatula onto boiled potatoes with pickles and cured meats often served as sides.  

An alpine specialty, raclette is believed to have originated in the canton of Valais in Switzerland way back in the Middle Ages. However, other *fromage fancying nations have adopted the traditional dish with gusto – including France.  

While the dish was originally made fireside, today many heat their cheese to scrape-ready, melted perfection on a raclette grill. As for the cheese, the authentic choice is Swiss raclette cheese – a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese. However, Gruyère, Comté and Gouda will also work if that’s what you have *dans le frigo.

*to scrape | *cheese | *in the fridge

Nuit Blanche

On Saturday, 7th of June, locals and tourists will see the streets and monuments of Paris in a new light as Nuit Blanche (White Night) takes over the city for the 24th year. Launched in 2002 by then-Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, the annual event aims to make contemporary art accessible to the masses, with installations, performances and projections illuminating public spaces and cultural institutions throughout the city.

With actress Valérie Donzelli as Artistic Director, this year’s program focuses on cinema, with nearly 300 free artistic projects popping up across Paris. Included in the lineup are an open-air dance performance at the Institut de France and an “aquatic and musical installation” at the Bourse de Commerce.

*Un grand succès, the Nuit Blanche concept has been adopted around the globe, with over 30 cities now putting their own spin on the all-night celebrations, including our very own Melbourne.  

Nuit Blanche, Paris
7 Juin, 2025
Visit the website

*A big success

Paper Republic

Can’t stop buying *la papeterie? We understand the addiction. So, we’d be remiss not to insist you pop Papeterie Perjac on *l’itinéraire when next in Paris. (Call us enablers.)

A cornucopia of delights folded between the le Grand Rex cinema and le Palais Garnier (opera house), the 60-year-old stationery store is now permanently home to the paper republic embassy.

Founded by Frenchman Jérôme Bacquias in 2012 and based in Vienna, paper republic is famous for its range of high-end leather-bound journals and refillable notebooks – featuring vegetable-tanned Tuscan leather and acid-free, wood-free FSC-certified 80gsm natural paper made “in one of the best, if not the best, European paper mill in Sweden”.

With embossing and customisation available in-store, their journals make the perfect gift. Or why not treat yourself and document your travels in style?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by paper republic (@paper_republic)

Paper Republic Embassy
Papeterie Perjac
66 Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière
75010 PARIS


*stationery | *the itinerary  

The Best Hikes in France

If you prefer your holidays far from bustling cities and crammed coastal resorts, with a healthy dose of fresh air, Lonely Planet’s guide to the best hikes in France might be for you.

And, to ensure you fit right in on *la piste, we’ve also compiled *une liste of handy French hiking vocab to learn before *votre depart.

 *the track | *a list | *your departure

How to Learn French - follow your nose

If you’ve become a regular reader of these posts, you may remember we started our pronunciation adventure all the way back with the vowels a, e, i (y), o and u. I hope by now you feel confident pronouncing them and that you know your anchor words off by heart.

If you’re new to the blog, the use of anchor words is a fairly common practice for those learning to pronounce a second language. These are words that you absolutely know how to pronounce and by extension allow you to pronounce a whole host of other words that contain the same sounds. Apart from the exceptions, (bien sûr*). 

I can almost hear you howling from here about French and its plentiful exceptions, but I promise you that on the pronunciation side of things, at least, there are very few exceptions to the rule. Don’t believe me? Follow this blog to the bitter end and you’ll see that the pronunciation table we’re building has a form to it that will satisfy even the most méticuleux* of reader.

Today we’re going to look at nasal vowels, which for me are what makes French sound so…well, French. If you think of a caricature of a French person (say Pepé Le Pew or Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau) their overblown accents are often due to an exaggeration of the four nasals vowels. Read on to find out un peu plus*.

By the way, here are my personal anchor words for the French vowels. Please do not feel hidebound by mine. While you’re welcome to use them, it is a really great exercise for you to find your own.

LES VOYELLES FRANÇAISES - KATRINA’S ANCHOR WORDS

A - ça va
E - je
I/Y - ici
O - tomate
U - tu

Okay, so now let’s take a look at these very special-sounding vowels - les voyelles nasales*.

Step 1…

This (admittedly) very memorable French phrase encapsulates the nasal vowels in one easy-to-understand sentence: a good white wine.

There are officially four different nasal vowels in French, though many French people will say the sounds un and in sounds are exactly the same. While it’s true the difference is très nuancée*, each have separate phonetic symbols so for now at least, we have quatre* to learn. Don’t worry, though, if you can’t hear the difference between the two. In a hundred years or so, there will likely only be three of them and you’ll have been proven right.

Choose your favourite word below to become your anchor word. There are actually very few words that contain un in French. Next post you’ll see that the sound um is exactly the same (see, I told you it’d get easier!) so there’ll be a few more of them to choose from.

un
lundi
quelqu’un
aucun
chacun


MAKE THE SOUND: Try saying ‘un’ as in ‘unhappy’. Now say it again, but don’t say the ‘n’. This sound approximates the sound you want. 

bon
mon
tonton
chanson
oncle

MAKE THE SOUND: Try saying the English word ‘on’. Now say it again but do not pronounce the ‘n’. Your mouth should finish open, not with your tongue on the roof of your mouth. 

cousin
intelligent
fin
lapin
prince

MAKE THE SOUND: Try saying the English word ‘an’ as in ‘an apple’ without finishing the ‘n’ sound. This is quite close to the sound you’re after. 

enfant
enfin
dans
antique
dent

MAKE THE SOUND: The two sounds are identical. Think of the word enchanté, in which it appears twice. 

So, let’s take a look at our pronunciation table after the addition of the nasal vowels. You’ll see we’ve added four extra rows, as the sounds are completely different to all those that have preceded them.

Ne vous inquiétez pas*, though, next post we’ll fill out those new rows in a really satisfying (and hopefully helpful) way.

*of course | *meticulous | *a bit more | *the nasal vowels | *very nuanced | *four | *Don’t worry

Quel est ton jeu de société préféré?

Did you know that the French are avid board game enthusiasts, with 91% of the population regularly indulging in a *jeu de société, or *deux? *Alors, now you do.

*En fait, 2023 saw nearly 90,000 boxes of board games sold each day in France, making it one of the most game-obsessed markets in Europe. Which begs the question, *Quels sont les jeux de société préféré de nos professeurs?

You’re probably familiar with most of these, other than le Jeu des petits chevaux. This traditional French children’s board game, similar to Ludo, consists of moving several pawns (horses) to the home reserved for their colour. Each player will receive between one and three horses, with the first player to reach the last square (numbered 6) winning the game.

*Well | *board game | *two | *Which are our teachers favourite board games?

Légumes de printemps

Keen gardeners and chefs will know that each season means a different crop of delicious veg to roast, blanch, sauté or grill. With spring in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, here are *des légumes de printemps you might find on *ton assiette in France.

*some spring vegetables | *your plate

Faire le pont

Like all of us, the French love a long weekend. Especially when the calendar allows them to ‘faire le pont’. With the literal translation ‘to make a bridge’, this fun French expression refers to asking HR for an annual leave day to create an extended four-day weekend.

How does it work? If un jour férié (public holiday) falls on a *mardi ou jeudi, it’s common practice to take off the bridging day (Monday or Friday) to create a *plus long weekend.  

And this year, *mai dishes up the perfect opportunity, with *des jours fériés on the 1st, 8th and 29th. All of which happen to fall on a Thursday. *Quelle chance!

*Tuesday or Thursday |*longer |*May | *public holidays| *How lucky!

French Comedy à Brisbane?

Feeling *courageux about testing your French listening skills? Then add this social outing to your calendar for *un vrai défi. Later this month, French comedienne Tania Dutel will be performing at the Brisbane Comedy Festival with a show that tackles deceit and hypocrisy—entirely in French.

You can sample Tania’s style by watching her in action in Montreal.

Visit the website for more information or to secure your tickets. *Bon courage! 

Tania Dutel at Brisbane Comedy Festival
Sunday 18 May | 5pm
Tickets: From $50
Powerhouse Theatre, New Farm

BOOK NOW

Du Foie Gras sous le Sapin

If you’re looking for something fun to do now the Alliance Française French Festival is over, we have just the thing. Running from 19-21 June, *Du foie gras sous le sapin is the latest offering from Brisbane French Theatre—after a break of nearly three years.  

Performed entirely in French, with English subtitles projected above the stage, the dark comedy, translated as ‘Eat your heart out’, tells the tale of three broke *colocataires faced with a tricky festive dilemma.

December 2025. As France battles an unprecedented winter heatwave, the trio receive bad news: their rent is about to skyrocket. In the midst of a brutal cost-of-living crisis, this blow threatens not only their already fragile budget but, even worse, their beloved Christmas tradition: the annual foie gras marathon!

Faced with their increasingly precarious situation, the trio of misfits find themselves divided over one existential question: how do you respond to a world that’s becoming more dehumanised every day, other than by becoming just like it?

Tickets are on sale now. For further information or to book, visit the website.

DU FOIE GRAS SOUS LE SAPIN
Thursday 19 June - Saturday 21 June 2025
Adult $26 | Concession $21 | Group $21
Ron Hurley Theatre, Seven Hills
BOOK NOW

*Foie gras under the tree | *housemates

How to Learn French - Plus ça change...

Today we’re going to inch across a few columns, filling out variations on some sounds you already know well. It is my hope that with each horizontal move, you’ll be reassured that you’re more unconsciously competent at French pronunciation than you may think.

Soyez tranquille*, we’ll be making some more vertical moves in future posts, adding brand new sounds, but for now, let’s just consolidate some of the vowel sounds you already know.

You’ll notice that the additions we make today involve accents, which is to say that in many instances, they make no difference to the pronunciation of vowels at all.

On y va* !

Remember, the aim of the game is to have an anchor word for each principal sound (those in the far left-hand column below). Once you’re confident that you know how to pronounce that sound, you can start to add other sounds, which, though spelled slightly differently, have the same pronunciation.

voilà
là
à la carte
château
gâteau
pâtes

SOUNDS LIKE: A

Lyon
pays
Yves
gîte
île
dîner
maïs
naïve
aïoli

SOUNDS LIKE: I

tôt
hôpital
hôtel

SOUNDS LIKE: O

dû
brûlé(e)
flûte

SOUNDS LIKE: U

So, where does that land us? You’ll see we’ve filled in the vowel sounds quite a lot horizontally. You’re really starting to build up a very good pronunciation cheat sheet, except it’s not cheating at all, since you’re (hopefully) confident with your anchor words, and, by extension, those that follow.

Félicitations* ! You’ve just made further headway in mastering French pronunciation.

*Rest assured | *Let’s go | *Congratulations

Messy Nessy

If you’re a fan of fashion, art, curios and all things offbeat, don’t miss a visit to Messy Nessy’s Cabinet in the Latin Quarter when à Paris. Opened last year, *la petite boutique is a treasure trove of delights, from bottles of Eau de Seine (yes, it is what you think) to *les casquettes de baseball, logo sweaters, card games, books and antiques.

It’s the brainchild of Vanessa Grall, *la femme behind the cult blog Messy Nessy Chic and the Don’t Be a Tourist series of city guides. Pop by and say hi if in town—you’ll find Vanessa is often manning the till.

And if a Paris trip is not in your immediate future, you can also shop the collection online.

Messy Nessy’s Cabinet
19 rue de Bievre, 75005 Paris
Instagram: @messynessychic

*in Paris | *the little store | *baseball caps | *the woman

5 Famous Poisson d’Avril Pranks

*Attention, tout le monde! Today marks the French equivalent of April Fool’s Day, Poisson d’Avril. Or, April Fish. Celebrated with the sneaky application of a paper fish to the back of unsuspecting victims (here's the background), April 1st is understandably popular with *enfants. But the media embrace it as well.

From announcing the sale of the Eiffel Tower to changing métro names, here are five famous Poisson d’Avril pranks played on the French public over the years.

*Careful, everyone! | *children

Bobo is Back

If you needed convincing that the early noughties obsession with boho-chic (or, as the French say, bobo) style *est de retour, iconic fashion house Chloé’s most recent AW2025 collection has *la preuve.

Creative director Chemena Kamali sent models down her Paris runway bedecked in faux fur, romantic ruffles, heart pendants and ballet flats, toting soft, charm-laden *sacs. And it has us collectively swooning.

Read about the Chloé show here. Or view Chloé’s Instagram account for detailed shots of the collection.

* is back | *the proof | *bags

Dicton du mois d'avril

Familiar with the English proverb, “April showers bring May flowers”? *Alors, the French have one of their own.

Referring to the fickle April weather, the saying goes, “En avril, ne te découvre pas d'un fil." This is often followed by the second line, "En mai, fais ce qu'il te plaît."

The literal translation is, “In April, don't remove a thread” and "In May, do what pleases you." Or, in other words, don’t risk swapping *tes pulls for summer dresses just yet, as the hints of warmer weather can't be trusted.

In the milder month of May, on the other hand, you’re free to do (and dress) as you like.  

*C’est mignon, non?

* Well | *your jumpers | *It’s cute, right?

Recette: Pâté de Pâques Berrichon

Looking for something to serve up this Easter instead of a classic lamb roast? This recipe for Pâté de Pâques Berrichon is well worth a try.

Originating in the Berry region in central France, the seasonal dish, signifying the end of Lent, is a *pâté en croûte with a filling of pork and veal mince and hard-boiled *œufs encased in a golden puff pastry shell. 

PÂTÉ DE PÂQUES BERRICHON (POUR 6)

1 cuillère à café de muscade
1 teaspoon of nutmeg

2 pincées de sel
2 pinches of salt

2 tours de moulin de poivre
2 turns of the pepper mill

3 brins de persil
3 sprigs of parsley

1 pâte feuilletée
1 sheet of puff pastry

150 g de viande hachée porc et veau
150g of minced pork and veal

3 oeufs
3 eggs

ÉTAPE 1

Faire cuire les oeufs pour qu'ils soient durs.
Cook the eggs until they are hard-boiled.

ÉTAPE 2

Etaler la pâte feuilletée.
Roll out the puff pastry.

ÉTAPE 3

Mélanger la viande, le persil et les épices.
Mix the meat, parsley and spices.

ÉTAPE 4

Faire un boudin de viande au milieu de la pâte.
Make a meat sausage in the middle of the dough.

ÉTAPE 5

Une fois que les oeufs sont froids, les couper en deux et les disposer sur la viande.
Once the eggs are cold, cut them in half and place them on the meat.

ÉTAPE 6

Refermer la pâte feuilletée sur le côté, pour que ce soit bien hermétique.
Close the puff pastry on the side so that it is airtight.

ÉTAPE 7

Vous pouvez badigeonner le pâté avec du jaune d'oeuf.|
You can brush the pie with egg yolk.

ÉTAPE 8

Percer quelques trous sur le dessus et faire cuire 30 minutes à 200°C (thermostat 6-7).
Make a few holes on top and bake for 30 minutes at 200°C (thermostat 6-7). 

Bon appétit*!

Merci au Marmiton pour la recette*.

*meat pâté baked in a pastry crust | *eggs | *Enjoy! | *Thank you to Marmiton for the recipe.

How to Learn French - Getting square

I think one of the biggest breakthroughs I had with my French pronunciation was when I realised how many different spellings there were for the same sound.

This realisation helped me to start to synthesise all the different information I had swirling around my head from things I’d heard, been told and read.

As much as I I like to think of myself as a creative soul, I do love a good spreadsheet, so being able to give order to the sounds I was trying to pronounce was a great help.

In the last two posts of How To Learn French, I’ve effectively been opening a new file and working out how many columns and rows I’ll need. In this post, we’re going to take our first look at that grid, so hopefully for the more visual among you it will be very helpful.

Here’s where we were after the first post.

After the second, you could see we were starting to fill in a couple of the rows, demonstrating that there is some order, in fact, to French pronunciation.

Today we’re going to add another couple of very important rows and fill out a column or two, so let’s get to it. On y va* !

Remember, our aim is to set you up with an anchor word that you are confident about pronouncing. This accent produces a sound doesn’t really have an exact equivalent in English. It’s sort of a mix between ay as in hay, and e as in bed. Here are some other options.

étudiant
risqué
étage
préférer
école

This sound is similar to the e sound in egg, or bed. As an anchor word, you may prefer one of the below, or may already have a favourite.

père
après
frère
grève
très

So now, we can fill out our table a little more and hopefully it’s becoming clearer to you just how much crossover there is in the French spelling of sounds (and there’s even more to come).

Have fun playing around with these sounds. I remember it took me ages to get my head around this. Even now, someone will correct my pronunciation or I’ll come across a new word and I really enjoy seeing if I can find a place for it in the grid. I hope you’re finding this helpful.

Bon courage* !

*Let’s go | *Good luck

Sneak Peek into Le Nid: Quel est ton acteur français préféré?

With the Alliance Française French Film Festival fast approaching, we thought it was the perfect time to reveal our favourite French actors (male and female). From icons to up-and-comers, here are the stars our team adores.

Quel(le) est ton acteur ou actrice préféré(e)?

KATRINA
Sandrine Kiberlain
Film célèbre* : Les patriotes (The Patriots)

Source : Mireille Ampilhac via Wikimedia Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

JUSTINE
Adèle Exarchopoulos
Film célèbre: La vie d'Adèle (Blue Is The Warmest Colour)

ALICIA
Agnès Jaoui
Film célèbre: Le goût des autres (The Taste of Others)

Source : Georges Biard via Wikimedia Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

ANGÉLINE
Guillaume Canet
Film célèbre: Les petits mouchoirs (Little White Lies)

Source : Georges Biard via Wikimedia Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

ALEXIA
Jean Dujardin
Film célèbre: The Artist

Source : Georges Biard via Wikimedia Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

MARION
Jean Rochefort
Film célèbre: Le Crabe-tambour (Drummer Crab)

Source : Georges Biard via Wikimedia Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

* Famous film