9 words to practise the French nasal sound UN

It took me years to master the nasal sounds in French - not because it’s hard, but just because I didn’t know how! 

No textbook can do it, no written instructions suffice . . . and then one day, it came.  

It came easily and I never get it wrong now! So what made the difference? 

Just 10 minutes of efficient practice and feedback from a human who cared. A French one who guided me bit by bit.

I learnt where to position my tongue, my lips, how to use the airflow like a French native, how to liaise certain words, where the silent sounds were . . . it goes on!

 In this mini-lesson I share with you:

• How to pronounce the sound UN in French 

• How to position your mouth  

• 9 words to practise!

4 factors to produce the perfect pronunciation

When it comes to pronunciation, there are some elements you pay attention to. These are: 

• tongue position

• airflow

• mouth position
• intonation

Indeed, whether you want to produce the letter “l” or “r” in French, you won’t put your tongue in the same position. For the first one, your tongue will touch your palate while for the second letter, it will be at the back of your throat. By the way, for vowels, the tongue position is always the same since it will stay at the bottom of your mouth to allow the maximum of air to go through.

In the case of the nasal vowel un, your tongue is behind your bottom teeth, relaxed until the end.

The airflow varies according to the letter. As we just mentioned, for vowels the airflow is extremely abundant. For plosive letters like “p”, “b”, you can imagine that the air is thrust out with sudden force.

Your mouth can open in 2 ways: vertically and horizontally. The opening will make all the difference. The letter “o” is far more open than the letter “u” in French. Can’t you hear the difference between “é” and “è”? Well, if you pay attention to a French native, you will physically see the difference.

For the un sound, your mouth is open and rounded. You should produce the sound “ah(n)”.

Finally, the intonation as the music of any language is unique. As far as French is concerned, the general rule is the intonation goes down for a normal sentence and the last syllable is stressed.

So, whenever you plan to improve your (French) pronunciation, take these 4 elements into account.

9 French words to practice the sound UN.

In this mini-lesson, we are going to work on 9 words so you can master the nasal vowel un. Here’s the list of words:

• un >>> a / one
• lundi >>> Monday
• commun >>> common
 
• brun >>> brown
• aucun >>> none
• chacun >>> each
• emprunter >>> to borrow
• (un) emprunt >>> a loan
• (la) jungle >>> the jungle

Let’s practise with examples:

Let’s pay attention to 9 sentences with each word using the un sound:

• J’ai un chien et un chat. >>> I have a dog and a cat.
• Elle ne travaille pas le lundi. >>> She doesn’t work on Mondays.
• Il est commun en France de manger du pain et du fromage >>> It’s common to eat bread with cheese in France. 
• Son cousin est brun. >>> His cousin is brown.
• Tu vois un hôtel ? Je n’en vois aucun. >>> Can you see a hotel? I can see none.
•  J’ai emprunté de l’argent à ma mère. >>> I’ve borrowed money from my mother.
• Comment as-tu acheté ta maison? J’ai fait un emprunt.  >>> How did you buy your house? I did it with a loan.
• Ils n’ont pas tondu le gazon. C’est une vraie jungle !  >>> They didn’t mow the lawn. It’s a real jungle!

One vowel can completely change a nasal sound.

For the sake of pronunciation, if there’s a vowel just after the nasal vowel un, you will have something completely different. Indeed, the nasal sound isn’t nasal anymore.

Why? Because the following vowel causes somehow a split of the sound. Imagine that the letter u is separated and the letter n goes with the following letter to produce another sound with the consonant “n” this time… 

As a result, you will have 2 sounds: the u sound and the n with a vowel. The letters u and n are not connected anymore. Therefore, the nasal sound disappears.

Let's look:

• L’univers >>> the Universe
• Uniquement >>> only
• Une >>> one / a
• Lunatique >>> lunatic
• Brune >>> brown
• Aucune >>> none
• Unanime >>> unanimous

Let’s practise with examples:

Here are some sentences for you:

• L’univers est infini. >>> The Universe is infinite.
• Elle aime uniquement les chocolats noirs. >>> She likes black chocolates only.
• Ils ont belle une maison près de la mer. >>> They have a beautiful house near the sea.
• Cette personne est vraiment lunatique ! Il change d’humeur tout le temps ! >>> This person is a real lunatic! He changes his mood all the time!
• Il préfère les brunes. >>> He prefers brunettes.
• Comment il s’appelle ? J’en ai aucune idée. >>> What’s his name? I have no idea.
• C’est unanime: le public adore cette vedette ! >>> It’s unanimous: the audience loves this celebrity!

Tips to produce the perfect nasal sound UN.

Do you want to produce it perfectly each time? Here are some tips to help you just do this.

First, visualise the sound. Remember how to put your mouth, tongue, and everything required to say it.

Then, think ”ahn” and associate it with the un sound. Be sure to check that there’s no vowel after it!

Vocalise the sound. Don’t stay with the idea that you know how to say it without doing it aloud. The best thing you could do would be to record your voice and listen to it after to check. Even better, get instant feedback from a native speaker. 

Don’t say the nasal sound only but play with examples. Practise writing the sound in specific words and, as you write, say it aloud as well.

Finally, memorise one sound at a time. Master one then go ahead with another one. Trying to learn several sounds at the same time is counterproductive.  

You can practise with these 9 French words with the nasal sound of un with the video. Repeat the words simultaneously, record yourself, and use it as much as you can.

If you also want to practise other sounds typical in French, have a look at these mini-lessons:

How to pronounce é and è in French

How to pronounce the French nasal sound AN

How do you pronounce the French nasal sound ON?