French k and g sounds: practise cou and goût
Compare cou /ku/ and goût /gu/, learn where the tongue goes, and recognise c, qu, g and gu with picture cards, spelling examples and a short quiz.
In short
In cou [ku] (neck) and goût [ɡu] (taste), the vowel stays [u]. The change is the first consonant: /k/ is voiceless and /ɡ/ is voiced. Both use a brief closure made with the back of the tongue.
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How do you pronounce k and g in French?
le couthe neck
Focus: Start with /k/, release into /u/.
cou [ku]
J’ai mal au cou.
My neck hurts.
le goûtthe taste
Focus: Start with /ɡ/, keep the same /u/.
goût [ɡu]
Ce gâteau a bon goût.
This cake tastes good.
Make a brief closure at the back of your mouth, then release it into [u]. Keep your lips rounded for the vowel in both words. For /k/, aim for a short release; an exaggerated English-style puff can distract from the French word. For /ɡ/, use the voiced beginning you hear in gâteau. Say cou, goût, cou, goût, keeping the vowel steady.
Find the beginning in a familiar word
Two /k/ words and two /ɡ/ words
Find:
| Spelling | Example | Sound at the start |
|---|---|---|
| c before a, o, u | café, cou | /k/ |
| qu | qui, quatre | /k/ in these words |
| g before a, o, u | gâteau, goût | /ɡ/ |
| gu before e or i | guitare, guerre | /ɡ/; the u is silent here |
| g before e or i | gilet | /ʒ/, the sound in je |
The letters and the sounds have separate jobs. Guitare starts [ɡi], with one vowel in that first syllable; its written u keeps the hard /ɡ/. In gilet, the first sound is /ʒ/. Likewise, qui begins /k/, while a word such as aquarium has /kw/ in a common pronunciation. Learn the whole unfamiliar word when a short spelling rule leaves a question.