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French Nasal Vowels: Word Lists with Pronunciation

9 min readUpdated October 1, 2026By
In this lesson
  1. 1on / en / an → /ɔ̃/ and /ɑ̃/
  2. 2un → /œ̃/ (often merged with /ɛ̃/)
  3. 3in / aim / ein / eim → /ɛ̃/
  4. 4om / em → nasal before b/p → /ɔ̃/, /ɑ̃/
  5. 5im → nasal before b/p → /ɛ̃/
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The key rule

A French nasal vowel is one vowel sound with air through the nose, never vowel + n: bon, grand, vin. Three sounds, many spellings: on/om is /ɔ̃/, an/en/am/em is /ɑ̃/, in/im/ain/ein is /ɛ̃/.

bon said 'bonn' or 'bong'. grand said 'grand' with a d.
bon said as a nasal 'oh'. grand said as a nasal 'ah', with no d.

Before b or p, n is written m (nombre, important), and the sound does not change. Un is /œ̃/, merged with /ɛ̃/ for many speakers in France, but many Québec speakers still keep it apart.

Getting Started — The Hardest Category, The Highest Payoff

Nasal vowels are the hardest sounds for learners, but fixing them gives you the biggest boost in listening comprehension.

🧠 Memory hook: Nasal vowel means air goes through your nose, and you never complete the ‘n’. ‘on’ is not ‘ohn’ — your tongue never touches the roof of your mouth. Think of a hummed ‘ohn’.

Background: French Pronunciation — Complete Sound Guide, Section 3.

1 on / en / an → /ɔ̃/ and /ɑ̃/

on = /ɔ̃/ (rounded, hummed ‘ohn’). en and an = /ɑ̃/ (open ‘ahn’).

French English Type Example Example (EN)
bon good [adj] C’est un bon café. It’s a good coffee.
non no [adv] Non, merci. No, thank you.
maison house [n] J’habite dans une maison. I live in a house.
nom name [n] Quel est ton nom? What is your name?
monde world / people [n] Tout le monde est là. Everyone is here.
enfant child [n] L’enfant joue dehors. The child plays outside.
temps time / weather [n] Je n’ai pas le temps. I don’t have time.
argent money [n] J’ai besoin d’argent. I need money.
grand big / tall [adj] Il est très grand. He is very tall.
dans in / inside [prep] Le livre est dans le sac. The book is in the bag.
quand when [adv] Quand arrives-tu? When do you arrive?
souvent often [adv] Je travaille souvent. I work often.
comment how [adv] Comment ça va? How are you?
prendre to take [v] Je vais prendre un café. I’ll have a coffee.

2 un → /œ̃/ (often merged with /ɛ̃/)

Nasal, lips slightly rounded — sounds like ‘uh-n’. In much of France it merges with in /ɛ̃/, but many Québec speakers keep it apart: brun and brin do not sound the same there.

French English Type Example Example (EN)
un one / a [num] Un café, s’il vous plaît. One coffee, please.
lundi Monday [n] Je travaille lundi. I work on Monday.
chacun each one [pron] Chacun son tour. Each one takes a turn.
aucun none / not any [adj] Aucun problème. No problem.
brun brown [adj] Il a les cheveux bruns. He has brown hair.
parfum perfume / flavor [n] Quel parfum aimes-tu? Which flavor do you like?
quelqu’un someone [pron] Quelqu’un est là? Is someone there?
commun common [adj] Un point commun. A common point.
un peu a little [adv] Je parle un peu français. I speak a little French.
un jour one day [n] Un jour, j’irai en France. One day I’ll go to France.
emprunter to borrow [v] Je vais emprunter un livre. I’ll borrow a book.

3 in / aim / ein / eim → /ɛ̃/

Nasal ‘eh’ sound. This is the most common nasal vowel.

French English Type Example Example (EN)
vin wine [n] Un verre de vin. A glass of wine.
pain bread [n] Je vais acheter du pain. I’ll buy bread.
main hand [n] Tu me tiens la main. You hold my hand.
demain tomorrow [adv] À demain. See you tomorrow.
faim hunger [n] J’ai faim. I’m hungry.
train train [n] Je prends le train. I take the train.
gain gain / profit [n] Un bon gain. A good profit.
vain vain [adj] C’est vain. It’s vain.
certain certain [adj] C’est certain. That’s certain.
loin far [adv] C’est loin. It’s far.
coin corner [n] Au coin de la rue. At the corner of the street.
soin care [n] Avec soin. With care.
peine pain / trouble [n] Quelle peine. What trouble.
pleurer to cry [v] Je ne vais pas pleurer. I won’t cry.

Test yourself: Minimal pairs to practice — bon /ɔ̃/ vs vin /ɛ̃/, dans /ɑ̃/ vs dune /y/ (not nasal).

Key principle: All nasal vowels — they all flow through your nose at the same time as the vowel. No hard stopping ‘n’ or ‘ng’ at the end.

4 om / em → nasal before b/p → /ɔ̃/, /ɑ̃/

Before b or p, “on/an” is written with m. om = /ɔ̃/, em = /ɑ̃/.

French English Type Example Example (EN)
nombre number [n] Un grand nombre de gens. A large number of people.
ombre shade / shadow [n] Je suis à l’ombre. I’m in the shade.
tomber to fall [v] Attention de ne pas tomber. Be careful not to fall.
combien how much / many [adv] Combien ça coûte? How much does it cost?
exemple example [n] Par exemple. For example.
ensemble together [adv] Nous travaillons ensemble. We work together.
membre member [n] Je suis membre du club. I’m a member of the club.
novembre November [n] On est en novembre. It’s November.
décembre December [n] Noël est en décembre. Christmas is in December.
septembre September [n] La rentrée est en septembre. School starts in September.
température temperature [n] Quelle est la température? What is the temperature?
sombre dark / gloomy [adj] Une pièce sombre. A dark room.

5 im → nasal before b/p → /ɛ̃/

Before b or p, “in” is written im. The sound is /ɛ̃/.

French English Type Example Example (EN)
simple simple [adj] C’est très simple. It’s very simple.
important important [adj] C’est important. It’s important.
impossible impossible [adj] Ce n’est pas impossible. It’s not impossible.
timbre stamp [n] J’ai besoin d’un timbre. I need a stamp.
impôt tax [n] Je paie mes impôts. I pay my taxes.
imprimer to print [v] Je vais imprimer le document. I’ll print the document.
impatient impatient [adj] Je suis impatient. I am impatient.
impression impression [n] J’ai l’impression que oui. I have the impression it’s yes.
simplement simply [adv] C’est simplement faux. It’s simply false.
impoli rude [adj] Ne sois pas impoli. Don’t be rude.
imprévu unexpected [adj] Un événement imprévu. An unexpected event.

Practice

A. Which spelling group? Write on, an or in

  1. bon → ______
  2. grand → ______
  3. vin → ______
  4. maison → ______
  5. enfant → ______
  6. pain → ______
  7. nombre → ______
  8. important → ______
0 / 8 correct

B. Complete the spelling. Write om, em or im

  1. n______bre (number)
  2. t______ber (to fall)
  3. ex______ple (example)
  4. ens______ble (together)
  5. s______ple (simple)
  6. ______portant (important)
  7. t______bre (stamp)
  8. déc______bre (December)
0 / 8 correct
Answers

A. 1. on · 2. an · 3. in · 4. on · 5. an · 6. in · 7. on · 8. in

B. 1. om · 2. om · 3. em · 4. em · 5. im · 6. im · 7. im · 8. em

Your Turn: Read It Aloud

Read the paragraph aloud twice. Each nasal vowel is one sound through the nose, with no hard n. Record yourself and compare with Radio-Canada.

Lundi, mon cousin Vincent prend le train pour Montréal. Il a faim et il achète un pain, un timbre et un peu de jambon. En novembre, il fait très froid, mais il est content.

How to Practise

  1. Say the test pairs: beau (oral “oh”) vs bon (nasal “ohn”); sa vs sans; vais vs vin.
  2. In front of a mirror: your tongue must not touch the roof of your mouth, and no “n” is added.
  3. One section a day: say every word twice aloud, record yourself, and compare with native audio.

What’s Next

Practise spotting these 5 groups from the written word in Nasal Vowel Sounds, then move on to French Oral Vowel Sounds and the full French Pronunciation — Complete Sound Guide.

FAQ

Why are nasal vowels the hardest for learners?

Because nasal vowels are separate sounds—not 'vowel + n'—in French, and most learners' native languages don't have them. The target is: air comes through your nose while you say the vowel, but your tongue never touches the roof of your mouth. 'on' is not 'ohn', but a hummed 'ohn'.

What is the difference between 'on' and 'an' sounds?

'on' = /ɔ̃/ (rounded, hummed 'ohn'). 'an' and 'en' = /ɑ̃/ (open 'ahn'). Like bon = 'bohn', but grand = 'grahn'.

Why is 'important' spelled with 'im' not 'in'?

Spelling rule: before b/p, 'in' is written 'im' and 'on/an' is written 'om'. The sound stays nasal: important /ɛ̃/, nombre /ɔ̃/.

How is 'un' pronounced?

The traditional sound is the nasal /œ̃/, with lips slightly rounded, different from the 'in' sound /ɛ̃/. In much of France the two have merged, but many Québec speakers still keep them apart (un vs in). Learn to hear both; saying /ɛ̃/ for un will still be understood.

Check Your Understanding

1. How is 'bon' (good) pronounced?
2. Which pair shows the on/an sound difference correctly?
3. Why is 'important' spelled with 'im' not 'in'?
4. Which word has the same nasal vowel as 'bon'?
5. Which nasal vowel starts 'ensemble' (together)?
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