AtelierLe journal · French, understood
English

Language

The course

Updated

Cheat sheet

French è and ê pronunciation: mère, fête and fenêtre

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read è and ê with the open vowel /ɛ/ in mère, fête and fenêtre. Compare useful words, explore four picture cards and check the accents.

In short

È and ê commonly represent /ɛ/, the more open vowel in mère /mɛʁ/ and fête /fɛt/. Compared with /e/ in café, lower your tongue a little and keep your lips unrounded. Keep the written accent even when two spellings share a sound.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out

È et ê · les mots repères

1 · È: the vowel in family words

Use mère, père and frère as short reference words. All three have /ɛ/ before the final /ʁ/.

mère · /mɛʁ/mother
père · /pɛʁ/father
frère · /fʁɛʁ/brother

Mon frère parle avec ma mère.My brother is talking with my mother.

2 · Ê: the vowel in fête and tête

These broad pronunciations use /ɛ/. A circumflex can also be associated with vowel-length differences in some accents; it gives no fixed timing instruction.

fête · /fɛt/party; celebration
tête · /tɛt/head
fenêtre · /fənɛtʁ/window

La fête commence à huit heures.The party starts at eight o’clock.

3 · Keep the mark with the word

Très takes è; prêt takes ê. They share /ɛ/ in these models, but the spelling belongs to each word.

Il est très calme.He is very calm.

Il est prêt.He is ready.

Four picture words with the open vowel

How do you pronounce è and ê in French?

Mon père ouvre la fenêtre.

My father opens the window.

The target is /ɛ/ in both père and the accented syllable of fenêtre.

Je me lève à sept heures.

I get up at seven o’clock.

Lève /lɛv/ has the grave accent in this present-tense form.

Nous préparons une fête.

We are preparing a party.

Keep the circumflex in fête, including when you write the plural fêtes.

‘Open’ describes the vowel position. Open your mouth comfortably, rather than forcing a very wide movement. The English vowel in ‘bed’ can be a useful starting point; a French model of mère gives the target in its own consonant setting.

Choose the word with its accent

Question 1No account needed
Which word means ‘window’?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

fenêtre. The standard spelling is fenêtre, with a circumflex on the second e.

Question 2No account needed
Which vowel is the reference for mère?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

/ɛ/. Mère is /mɛʁ/: the open-mid unrounded vowel /ɛ/.

Question 3No account needed
Choose the correctly written present-tense form.Je me ___ tôt.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

lève. The verb form is je me lève, with a grave accent.

Question 4No account needed
Which statement fits the models on this sheet?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

È and ê can both represent /ɛ/.. Both spellings occur with /ɛ/, while each word keeps its own written accent.

Keep going