Minimal pair · French (France)
French /ʒ/ vs /ʃ//ʒ/ / /ʃ/
Learn to hear the difference between ʒ and ʃ in French words.
Practice these sounds/ʒ/
Continuous, voiced friction
Listen for the continuous, voiced friction through this consonant.
As injoue
/ʃ/
A broader, unvoiced hiss
A continuous consonant. Compare the quality of its friction with the other sound.
As inchou
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
A small change.
A different word.
Joue/chou, gens/champ and geai/chai contrast /ʒ/ with /ʃ/ at the start of the word. Their vowels change across pairs, so the opening consonant stays your target.
Listen for the target sound in each word.
A common trap
French j and g in these examples are not the English j sound. Both categories are continuous fricatives, with a voicing contrast. No pronunciation response is required.
Sound examples
Tap to hear each wordjoue
/ʒu/cheekgens
/ʒɑ̃/peoplegeai
/ʒɛ/jay, a birdjus
/ʒy/juicejeu
/ʒø/gamejeûne
/ʒøn/a fast; abstention from foodjeune
/ʒœn/youngjoute
/ʒut/a contest or verbal sparring matchchou
/ʃu/cabbagechamp
/ʃɑ̃/fieldchai
/ʃɛ/wine storehousechaud
/ʃo/hotchoix
/ʃwa/choicechat
/ʃa/cat; masculine formchant
/ʃɑ̃/singing; song15 words. Words stay hidden during practice unless you choose to reveal them.