French spelling hides its sound: "ils parlent" ends in a silent -ent, "les amis" needs a z sound that is never written, and "vin", "vent" and "vont" differ only in their nasal vowel. This checker listens to your spoken French and tells you which of those details you got right. It reviews each word, writes a phonetic transcription (IPA) of the ones you mispronounced next to the standard form, and explains the pattern behind the slip: a nasal vowel with an n pronounced after it, an English r in place of the uvular r, a missed liaison or elision, or "tu" sounding like "tout". It also comments on your accent, rhythm and sentence intonation, then scores the recording from 0 to 100.
Example result
Input
A one-minute clip of an English-speaking student reading a paragraph that starts "Les enfants sont allés au marché avec leur oncle."
Output
Liaison: "les enfants" was linked correctly [le.zɑ̃.fɑ̃]. "sont allés" was not; you said [sɔ̃ a.le], standard is [sɔ̃.t‿a.le]. Nasal vowels: "enfants" is good. In "oncle" you added an n: [ɔn.kl] instead of [ɔ̃kl]. Stop the airflow through the nose before the consonant. The r sound: "marché" used an English r. Aim for a light friction at the back of the throat, as in a soft gargle. U vs ou: "avec leur" was fine, but later "tu vois" sounded like "tout vois". Round your lips as for ou, then say ee. Silent letters: you pronounced the final t in "font". Drop it. Intonation: phrase-final stress is mostly right; questions need a clearer rise.
Scores
How it works
How French Pronunciation Checker works
- 01
Speak a short text
After signing in, record directly in your browser or upload an audio file of yourself reading or speaking French. Choose the AI model you prefer for the analysis.
- 02
Vowels that English lacks
The AI compares your vowels with standard French: the four nasal vowels in "un bon vin blanc", the front rounded u of "rue" versus the ou of "roue", and the e/è/eu contrasts.
- 03
Links between words
It checks final consonants that should stay silent, liaisons such as "vous_avez", elisions like "l'homme" and "j'ai", and whether your r is made at the back of the throat.
- 04
Rhythm, then remedies
French stresses the last syllable of each phrase, so the model rates your stress and intonation, notes regional accent traits, and ends with concrete exercises.
Use cases
Who it is for
DELF and DALF candidates
Rehearse the oral production task and see whether nasal vowels or skipped liaisons could cost you points with an examiner.
Moving to France, Belgium, Switzerland or Québec
Practice French speaking with the phrases you will actually need at the bank or the préfecture, and fix the sounds that make locals switch to English.
Singers and actors
Check the diction of an art song, a chanson or a monologue: which final consonants to sound, where liaison is required, and how open each vowel should be.
Teachers assigning homework
Ask students to submit a recording, then use the word-level notes and phonetic transcriptions as a starting point for individual feedback.
Tips
Get better results
- Write down the text you are reading so you can match each flagged word to its spelling and see which silent letters tricked you.
- Choose sentences with plural articles and pronouns before vowels (les, des, nous, vous) to give the checker liaisons to evaluate.
- Hold the phone about 20 cm from your mouth; nasal vowels lose their character when the recording is muffled or clipped.
- Read once slowly and once at conversational speed, because liaison and elision errors tend to appear when you speed up.
- Focus on one pattern per week, such as the r or the u/ou pair, and track that single score across recordings.
Limitations
What it can't tell you
Results are AI estimates of how your French sounds compared with a standard reference accent. Québécois, Belgian, Swiss and southern French speech are all correct in their own regions, and the model may describe those traits as deviations. Phonetic transcriptions are approximations produced by the model, not the output of a lab tool. It is a practice aid, not an official language certification.
Frequently Asked Questions
French Pronunciation Checker questions
How can I test my French pronunciation?
Record yourself reading a paragraph or answering a question in French, then upload it. You receive a word-by-word review, IPA transcriptions of the words you mispronounced, and scores for overall accuracy and for the sound groups you struggle with. Repeating the same text later works as a simple progress test.
Why are French nasal vowels so hard?
English speakers tend to say a normal vowel followed by an n or m. In French the air goes through the nose while the vowel is sounding, and the consonant is usually not pronounced at all, as in "bon" or "vin". The report points out where you closed the n.
Does the checker handle liaison and elision?
Yes. It listens for required liaisons such as "ils_ont" and "un_ami", forbidden ones such as after "et", and elisions like "l'école" and "qu'il". Missing or extra links are listed with the exact word pair involved.
How do I pronounce the French r?
Standard French uses a uvular r, made by raising the back of the tongue toward the uvula to create a soft friction. It should not involve the tongue tip or lip rounding. The checker tells you whether your r sounded English, rolled or close to the target.
Can it tell the difference between u and ou?
It listens for the contrast in pairs like "dessus" and "dessous" or "vu" and "vous". The French u needs rounded lips with the tongue forward; if yours sounds like ou, the note will name the words affected.
Will it judge my accent as wrong if I learned Canadian French?
The comparison uses standard French as its reference, but the system also comments on regional variation. Read the notes as describing differences, not mistakes, when a trait is normal in Québec or elsewhere.
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French Pronunciation Checker uses credits from a paid LindaleAI plan. See pricing