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

SWOON: Èze

Clinging dramatically to a hilltop on the Côte d'Azur, Èze is a picturesque medieval village between Nice and Monaco, also dubbed “the eagle’s nest”. Renowned for its breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea, the village charms with narrow, winding cobblestone streets lined with quaint stone houses, artisan shops and bougainvillea.

Dating back to the Middle Ages, Èze is home to l’Église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption, an 18th-century church with a striking neoclassical facade. History lovers can also explore the ruins of a 12th-century *château, destroyed by Louis XIV's troops in the 1700s.

*Mais, ne t'inquiète pas, there’s also plenty to enjoy in this French Riviera gem if *les églises and medieval architecture are not *ton truc. Perched 429 metres above the sea lies the le Jardin Exotique d'Eze (the Exotic Garden of Èze), a beautiful garden filled with cacti and exotic plants that has inspired countless creatives throughout history, including Nietzsche.

Èze is also celebrated for its perfumeries, such as Fragonard, where you can soak up the exquisite fragrance and learn about the art of traditional French perfume-making.

*castle | *But, don’t worry | *churches | *your thing

Paul Taylor: F*** Me I’m French

We’ve written about the Paris-based comic Paul Taylor before. *Et maintenant, you can hear his tales of life as a British expat *en France when he visits Brisbane *en mai.

A master of “le French bashing”, Taylor typically performs his shows using a mix of French and English. But for his Brisbane Comedy Festival outing, F*** Me I’m French, he’s keeping it 100% English. And judging by the title, you can expect a solid smattering of his signature fruity language. Book *vos sièges now!

Paul Taylor, F*** Me I’m French
Thursday 8 May, 8:30pm
Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets: $59.50
BOOK NOW

**and now | *in May |*in France |*in English |* your seats (tickets)

French Series: Drops of God

Streaming on Apple TV+ alongside another recent discovery, La Maison, Drops of God (Les Gouttes de Dieu) is a thrilling and delectable French series. Or, rather, French-American-Japanese series.

Premiering in 2023 with *une deuxième série confirmed, the Emmy-award-winning show takes you on a journey through beautiful *vignobles in France and Japan, as Camille competes against her deceased father’s protégé, Issei, to inherit her father’s private wine collection. Which happens to be the finest in the world.

Based on a 44-volume manga series of the same name (that doubled wine sales in Japan when first published in 2004), Drops of God is a must for lovers of stylish drama. And the perfect way to swot up on your wine vocab.

Stream it here.

* a second series | *vineyards

Camille Cottin

Born in Boulogne-Billancourt on the outskirts of Paris in 1978, actress and comedian Camille Cottin is one of France’s most popular film, stage and TV stars. And, *bien sûr, a firm favourite of many of our chouchous for her breakout role in the comedy-drama series, Dix Pour Cent (Call My Agent!).

Living in London as a teenager and working as a high school English teacher on her return home, Cottin trained at a drama school in Paris before joining the theatre company Troupe à Palmade in 2009. Her first on-screen role came the same year in the film Nos 18 ans, but her big break was in 2013 with Connasse.

In the hidden-camera sketch show, Cottin played a snobby Parisienne known simply as "La Connasse” (The Bitch). Her character was so popular that it led to the film The Parisian Bitch, Princess of Hearts (2015), which earned her a César Award nomination for Most Promising Actress.  

*Cependant, it was in 2015 that her star hit its ascension with a stellar performance as the impossibly cool talent agent Andréa Martel in the critically acclaimed series Call My Agent! Cottin has since had starring roles in films including Telle mère, telle fille (Baby Bumps, 2017) and Toni, en famille (2023). Her formidable talent has also won her English-language roles in the films Allied, House of Gucci and alongside Matt Damon in 2021’s Stillwater.

This month, you can catch Cottin at the 2025 Alliance Française French Film Festival in Trois amies (Three Friends) and Ni chaînes, ni maîtres (No Chains No Masters)—a rom-com and a historical drama that showcase her comedic and *plus sérieux acting chops.

Trois amies is our selection for this year’s festival, and we’d be delighted if you joined us at Palace Centro (James St) for the 6pm screening on Sunday, 13 March. Grab your tickets here—and feel free to join us for a pre-film ápero at Sixes and Sevens from 4pm!

*of course | *However |*more serious

Famous French Brands: CABAIA

Wander the streets of any French city, and you’ll spot the wares of hip, eco-conscious brand CABAIA on the backs or heads of all the cool kids. Founded in 2015 by Bastien Valensi and Emilien Foiret, the burgeoning luggage and accessories brand launched with a range of *bonnets topped with interchangeable pompoms – and, alongside sustainability, that idea of customisation is still at the heart of the brand.

cabaia.com

Achieving B Corp certification in 2022, CABAIA has donated 28,8343€ to partner charities, including the SPA (French Society for the Protection of Animals). With a lifetime guarantee, the brand’s products are manufactured in ethical factories, and 67% contain recycled plastic.

With a mission “to turn every trip into a journey, multiplying experiences and living life on our own terms,” CABAIA has quickly grown a loyal following with its modular *sacs à dos – featuring removable front pockets that can be swapped for different colours and styles.

The playful and innovative brand continues to “make mobility more beautiful”, and with over 30 stores in France and Belgium and more than 2,500 stockists, it seems CABAIA’s journey is one to follow.

Visit the CABAIA website for more information.

* beanies | * backpacks

How to Learn French - Another piece of the pronunciation puzzle

In the last How To Learn French post, I introduced the concept of anchor words as a way of improving your pronunciation. Anchor words are words that students absolutely know how to pronounce. They’ll be different for everyone, but the trick is to start gathering a little stock of your own which you can use to refer to in order to at least have a very good stab at pronouncing new words correctly.

French pronunciation has a reputation for being difficult, but I think this stems from a misunderstanding. Yes, French certainly has sounds that do not in any way resemble English, however, the good news is that they do resemble one another in many cases. That is, there are several ways of spelling the very same sounds in French.

So, to get going, let’s take a look at the ones we covered last time, and then we’ll advance from there. Un petit rappel*, if you’d like to be 100% sure of the pronunciation of any of these words, make the most of this great little website, where you can hear a variety of native speakers saying them. It’s a very good resource and one I still use when I’m faced with a word I’m not entirely certain how to pronounce.

A comme* ÇA VA
E comme JE
I/Y comme ICI
O comme TOMATE
U comme TU

We’re going to tackle dipthongs, which are vowel combinations that create a syllable. Ne vous inquiétez pas*, even if you’ve only been learning French for a very short time, you’ll have come across them already, possibly without realising it. A classic example is found in the word bonjour, where the o and the u produce a particular sound.

You’ll notice that some of the sounds below are exactly the same as the anchor words above. Tu vois*? French pronunciation is already becoming easier.

My hope is that learning how certain sounds are grouped will not only take away the guesswork, but will start to arrange French pronunciation into a grid format in your mind, replacing what may currently look more like you’ve upended a cylinder of pick-up sticks from a great height in a strong wind.

où
douze
voudrais
bouteille 

deux
neuf
heure
sœur

SOUNDS LIKE: E comme JE

trois
poisson
chinois
toilettes 

raisins
treize
seize
retraité 

bureau
château
restaurant
gâteau
australien

SOUNDS LIKE: O comme TOMATE

nuit
huit
oui
huile 

As we continue with growing your collection* of anchor words, you’ll see that many of them start to refer back to our original group. I’d really encourage you to start keeping a little list in the back of one of your notebooks to refer to. I think you’ll be happily surprised by how quickly you’ll discover that French pronunciation is not only beautiful, but also rather orderly and comprehensible. In fact, it’s one of the rare elements of French where exceptions are truly exceptional, rather than the rule. Lâche pas*!

 *A little reminder | *as in | *You see | *Don’t worry | *collection | *Don’t give up