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French Made Easy
Bite-sized and easy-to-follow French lessons for beginners. Join Mathilde as she teaches you the basics you need to know to kickstart your French learning journey, and ultimately speak French clearly and confidently. Each episode covers topics related to French grammar, French pronunciation, and French vocabulary. At the end of each episode, you can download the lesson's exercises – so you can start practicing what you've learned right away. Head to https://www.mathildekien.com/subscribe-library to subscribe to the free FME (French Made Easy) Exercise Library. 🗝
French Made Easy
198 - The /ɔ̃/ Nasal Sound (French Pronunciation Practice)
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In this episode, you’ll practice the French nasal sound /ɔ̃/ (bonbon or non) with a simple listen & repeat exercise. 🎧✨
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Bonjour à tous, hello everyone and welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast!
This is episode number 198 — numéro cent-quatre-vingt-dix-huit.
And since this is our first episode of 2026, I just want to wish you a happy New Year — une bonne année. Thank you so much for listening to the podcast, and I hope this year brings you lots of progress in French. 🤍 Alright, back to our episode.
In today’s episode, we’re continuing our Listen & Repeat pronunciation series, and this time, we’re focusing on the French nasal vowel sound /ɔ̃/ — that’s the sound you hear in words like bonbon or non. 🎧✨
So here’s how it works: I’ll say some French sentences where the /ɔ̃/ sound appears, and your job is simple — just listen carefully and repeat after me.
This listen & repeat technique helps you train your ear and build muscle memory, so you can eventually feel more confident when speaking French.
To help you follow along, make sure to download your free cheat sheet — it includes all the sentences and English translations. You’ll find the link in the episode notes!
Let’s start with a few French words that contain the /ɔ̃/ sound:
- le bonbon (sweet, candy) 🍬
- la maison (house) 🏠
- le salon (living room) 🛋️
- la chanson (song) 🎶
- non (no) 🙅♀️
Alright, now that we’ve got our words, let’s practice the sound /ɔ̃/ with full sentences! 🎙️
Repeat after me:
- Manon adore les bonbons. 🍬 (Manon loves candies.)
- On mange à la maison ce soir. 🏠 (We’re eating at home tonight.)
- Elles vont chanter une chanson. 🎶 (They are going to sing a song.)
- Les garçons sont dans le salon. 🛋️ (The boys are in the living room.)
- Non, je ne comprends pas cette leçon. 🤔 (No, I don’t understand this lesson.)
Great! If any of those sentences felt tricky — feel free to go back and replay them.
Repetition really is the key to improving your pronunciation.
And that’s it for today’s episode!
Don’t forget to download your free cheat sheet — it includes all the French sentences and their English translations to help you follow along more easily.
Merci beaucoup for practicing with me today! I’ll see you in the next episode.
À bientôt, bye!