Free French pronunciation test
Say 5 short French words into your microphone. The AI scores every sound in every word — the R, the nasal vowels, the u/ou pair — and shows you which ones score lowest. It takes about a minute, runs in your browser, and needs no account.
bonjour
bohn-ZHOOR
hello
Tap to record
Scores rank your own sounds against each other so you know what to drill first. They are not an accuracy certificate and not an exam grade.
The sounds that decide your accent
the French 'r' sound (rouge)
The back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate — where you say 'g' — and air rubs gently past it, like a very soft gargle. The tongue tip stays down and never taps or curls as in an English 'r'.
the French 'u' sound (tu)
Say 'ee' and keep your tongue exactly there while rounding your lips into a tight circle. If it sounds like 'ou' your tongue slid back — it must stay far forward.
the 'ou' sound (vous)
Lips in a tight round circle, tongue pulled far back and high — deeper and tenser than the English 'oo' of 'food'.
the nasal 'an' sound (enfant)
Open your mouth wide as for 'ah' and send the air through your nose. Written an, en, am, em — and no 'n' is ever pronounced after it.
the nasal 'on' sound (bon)
Round your lips as for a deep 'o' and let the air flow through your nose at the same time. Your tongue must not touch anywhere — there is no 'n' consonant at the end of 'bon'.
the nasal 'in' sound (vin)
Start from the open 'è' of 'mère', keep the mouth there, and let the air pass through your nose. Written in, ain, ein, and also un/um — keep it well apart from 'an' and 'on'. Words spelled with 'un' (un, brun, parfum) use this same sound.
Questions
What does the test measure?+
Each word you record is broken into its individual sounds by a commercial speech-assessment engine, and every sound gets a score. The test then highlights which sounds scored lowest across your 5 words — your best starting point for practice.
Why only 5 words?+
The 5 words are chosen to cover French's signature difficulties: the French R, a nasal vowel, and the u/ou contrast, among others. That is enough to surface a pattern in about a minute. The full app drills you across nearly 3,000 words.
What does my score mean?+
It is a relative measure: scores rank your sounds against each other so the weak ones stand out. It is not an exam grade — we do not map it to CEFR levels or claim a percentage of sounds you said 'correctly'. Low-ranked sounds are simply where practice will pay off most.
What should I do after the test?+
Take your lowest-scoring sounds into the app. Each one has an articulation tip explaining exactly how to make it, plus drills built from real words that contain it. Re-record over time and watch the weak sounds climb the ranking. The app is free to start.
Practice French every day
The app drills the sounds this test flags, with thousands of words and instant feedback on every take.