A Simple Guide to French Semi-vowels

What Are French Semi-vowels?

A semi-vowel (also known as a semi-consonant) is a letter or a set of letters that combines with one or more vowels to make a one-syllable consonant-vowel sound. They’re crucial for smooth pronunciation and syllable formation in French, helping to create fluid, natural-sounding speech.

You might see semi-vowels referred to as approximants (short for approximant consonants) or glides. This is because you glide very quickly between the consonant and vowel sounds that form the syllable.

The three main French semi-vowels are [j], [ɥ] and [w] in the phonetic alphabet. Let’s go over each of these and see some words where they appear.  

Main French Semi-vowels

Here we’ll look at the three primary French semi-vowels. Please note that the letters and letter combinations presented below as common spellings often make these sounds, but not always. 

[w] 

One of the first words you probably learned in French, oui (yes), features a prominent semi-vowel. It sounds similar to “we” in English but uses no w to produce its “w” sound.

Instead, the combined sound of ou—normally similar to “ew” in English—is added to the i (“ee”) sound in such rapid succession that you get a one-syllable word with both a consonant and a vowel sound.

[j]

[ɥ] 

The [ɥ] sound is somewhat unique and doesn’t have a direct English equivalent.

Pronouncing French Semi-vowels

With a few exceptions, if you were looking in a mirror while you said a semi-vowel with its accompanying vowel, you would see your lips move between a pucker position and a pulled-back smile.

Or—depending on which semi-vowel is paired with which full vowel in a word—from a pulled-back position or relaxed pout to a pucker. Either way, your mirror will show you the rapid forward-and-back lip movements of semi-vowels.

Resources for Mastering Semi-vowels in French

Here are a few resources for studying French semi-vowels and their pronunciation in isolation:

• “The Sounds of French”: If you watch about the first minute of this clip, you’ll get a breakdown of the three French semi-vowels—how they’re pronounced, how they look in IPA and how to distinguish them from similar sounds.
• Pronunciation of the semivowel / ɥ /: This video by Frenchsounds focuses specifically on this particular semi-vowel, explaining its pronunciation in depth and demonstrating multiple sound combinations within the French lexicon.
• Pronunciation of the French “yod” / j /: Also presented by Frenchsounds, this video performs the same service for the “yuh” semi-vowel sound in French.

Once you learn about French semi-vowels, you can practice recognizing them in context. Keep your eyes and ears open, and you’ll find semi-vowels in abundance in French media: 

• Music and radio broadcasts: You can listen to French music and radio broadcasts from sources like Chérie FM and Radio France. This collection of French songs will also provide you with plenty of lyrical examples.
• French videos: Watching French videos on YouTube or movies on Netflix is an effective way to reinforce your recognition and pronunciation of French semi-vowels. You can both hear the sounds and see how they’re produced by native French speakers. 
• FluentU: With this language learning program, you can hear French semi-vowels used in context and spot them in the interactive subtitles.

  FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

  You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

  P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

  

  Try FluentU for FREE!

You’ve heard what French semi-vowels sound like and seen where they show up. With some practice in the mirror or with a French-speaking friend, you’ll soon be saying them with confidence!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

And one more thing...

If you like learning French on your own time and from the comfort of your smart device, then I'd be remiss to not tell you about FluentU.

FluentU has a wide variety of great content, like interviews, documentary excerpts and web series, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native French videos with reach. With interactive captions, you can tap on any word to see an image, definition and useful examples.

For example, if you tap on the word "crois," you'll see this:

Practice and reinforce all the vocabulary you've learned in a given video with learn mode. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning, and play the mini-games found in our dynamic flashcards, like "fill in the blank."

All throughout, FluentU tracks the vocabulary that you’re learning and uses this information to give you a totally personalized experience. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)