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Les voyelles nasales — Sounds That Buzz Through Your Nose
👃 Les voyelles nasales — Sounds That Buzz Through Your Nose
French has four sounds that simply do not exist in English. Nasal vowels are made by letting air flow through both your mouth and your nose at the same time — producing a resonant buzz. Once you hear the difference between «bon» [bɔ̃] and «bonne» [bɔn], you'll never confuse them again. Mastering nasals is also a quick win for the AQA Read-Aloud: every time you correctly nasalise a vowel instead of adding an English-style "n" after it, you show the examiner you understand French phonology.
The Three Nasal Vowel Sounds
French has three nasal vowel sounds that appear in GCSE-level vocabulary. Each is triggered by a vowel followed by n or m (before another consonant or at the end of a word).
Earn the mark scheme marks
💡 Read-Aloud Tips & Common Errors
- Never add a separate "n" or "m" sound after a nasal vowel — «enfant» is [ɑ̃fɑ̃], not "on-font".
- Check for doubled letters (nn / mm) in your Read-Aloud text — they always block nasalisation.
- «en» is almost always [ɑ̃] in the same nasal family as «an» — the AQA exam uses both spellings for the same sound.
- The word «un» [œ̃] is technically a fourth nasal in formal French, but in modern spoken French many speakers merge it with [ɛ̃]. Both are acceptable for GCSE.
- Practise the minimal pair «bon» [bɔ̃] / «bonne» [bɔn] aloud — that contrast shows your phonological awareness to the examiner.
❌ Common error: Saying «dans» as "donce" or "dance" (English-style), or pronouncing a full [n] after the vowel.
✓ Correct: «dans» = [dɑ̃] — the vowel is nasal, the n is not pronounced separately, and the final s is silent.
Why it costs marks: Anglicising nasal vowels is one of the most audible markers of non-French phonology. The AQA examiner specifically listens for nasal vowels in the Read-Aloud task — mispronouncing them reduces your AO7 (pronunciation and intonation) mark.