French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "un" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce un in French?

un is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /œ̃/. It means “a / an (m.); also the numeral one.” A nasal vowel with rounded lips — roughly "uh" through the nose. Not "un" as in English "under", and definitely not "oon".

A nasal vowel with rounded lips — roughly "uh" through the nose. Not "un" as in English "under", and definitely not "oon".

un /œ̃/

One unstressed nasal syllable feeding into the noun. In "un café" the weight is entirely on -FÉ, with "un" reduced to a quick nasal puff.

Listen: un

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Sound it out

u Here the "u" is nothing like the tight /y/ of "tu". Paired with the "n" it gives /œ̃/: round your lips as if for the "eu" of "neuf" and start there.

n A nasalization marker, not a consonant — the air goes out through your nose and the tongue never rises. In Paris and much of northern France this vowel has merged with the /ɛ̃/ of "vin", so many native speakers now pronounce "un" and "hein" alike. Both are perfectly standard.

Hear it in a sentence

Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.

I'd like a coffee, please.

Listen: Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.

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"Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît" is the model polite request, built on the conditional "voudrais" rather than the blunt "je veux". Listen for the link between "voudrais" and "un" — the silent "s" does not surface here, but the words still run together smoothly. This is the formal "s'il vous plaît", the version to use with anyone serving you.

Where English speakers slip

Learners typically say a full English "un" with the tongue closing to make an "n", or they overcorrect to "uhn" with a hard stop. The tongue must never touch. It also helps to know that the feminine "une" is completely different — /yn/, with a real "n" and the tight French "u" — so "un" and "une" are not the same sound plus an ending. They are two distinct shapes.