Minimal pair · French (France)
French /ɑ̃/ vs /ɛ̃//ɑ̃/ / /ɛ̃/
Learn to hear the difference between ɑ̃ and ɛ̃ in French words.
Practice these sounds/ɑ̃/
A nasal vowel
Nasal quality belongs to the vowel itself. There is no separate final n in these isolated words.
As inbanc
/ɛ̃/
A nasal-vowel quality
The whole vowel is nasal. Compare its quality across the different word beginnings.
As inbain
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
A small change.
A different word.
Banc/bain, pan/pain and temps/teint all finish with nasal vowels. The target is the vowel quality, not whether the word is nasal at all.
Listen for the target sound in each word.
A common trap
Temps has several final letters that are silent in this isolated form. Audio-only practice prevents those spellings from becoming answer cues.
Sound examples
Tap to hear each wordbanc
/bɑ̃/benchpan
/pɑ̃/section; paneltemps
/tɑ̃/time; weathertant
/tɑ̃/so muchgens
/ʒɑ̃/peoplechamp
/ʃɑ̃/fielddent
/dɑ̃/toothgant
/ɡɑ̃/glovebain
/bɛ̃/bathpain
/pɛ̃/breadteint
/tɛ̃/complexioncoussin
/kusɛ̃/cushioncousin
/kuzɛ̃/male cousinpin
/pɛ̃/pine treevin
/vɛ̃/winefin
/fɛ̃/end16 words. Words stay hidden during practice unless you choose to reveal them.