French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "non" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce non in French?

non is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /nɔ̃/. It means “no.” noh, sent through the nose — one syllable, and the second "n" is never touched by the tongue.

noh, sent through the nose — one syllable, and the second "n" is never touched by the tongue.

non /nɔ̃/

A single syllable, so stress is not in play — what carries meaning is the pitch contour. A flat, short "non" is a plain refusal; a long one with a falling tone is firm; a rising one turns it into a question or an invitation to argue.

Listen: non

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Sound it out

n The first "n" is a real consonant: tongue on the ridge behind the teeth, just like English.

on A nasal vowel, /ɔ̃/. Round your lips as if for "oh", drop your soft palate so air flows out of your nose, and hold that. Your tongue must not rise to close off the sound at the end.

Hear it in a sentence

Non, merci.

No, thank you.

Listen: Non, merci.

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"Non, merci" is about as short as a French sentence gets, and it shows how the language groups words: the comma is a real pause, then "merci" rises to its final syllable. Said fast, without the pause, the two words blend and can sound almost like a single word, nonmerCI.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers close the word with a proper "n", producing something like "nohn" with the tongue tapping the roof of the mouth at the end. That is the single most common error with every French nasal vowel, and "non" is where you meet it first. Practise by holding the vowel out: nooooo through the nose, tongue lying flat and motionless. If you feel your tongue move, you have added a consonant that is not there.