French m and n: close your lips for m, use your tongue for n
Find the difference between French m and n in ma mère, notre and nom. Compare nasal consonants with nasal vowels, then check the sounds in familiar words.
In short
For French /m/, close both lips; for /n/, put the front of your tongue against the area just behind your upper teeth. Both are voiced nasal consonants: air continues through the nose during the closure. A nasal vowel, such as the vowel in bon, has a different job: the mouth stays open for the vowel.
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How do you pronounce m and n in French?
ma mère /ma mɛʁ/my mother
Focus: Lips together for each /m/.
Close the lips gently, then open into the vowel.
Ma mère aime la musique.
My mother likes music.
notre nom /nɔtʁ nɔ̃/our name
Focus: The front of the tongue makes each initial /n/.
Keep the lips free; the tongue makes the closure.
Notre nom est sur la liste.
Our name is on the list.
Try a comfortable mmm, then nnn. The vibration continues in both; the place of closure moves from the lips to the tongue. Now say ma and non. Open straight into the vowel rather than adding another vowel before the consonant. You can also watch the lips close in ma mère.
Nom: one consonant and one nasal vowel
| Word | Pronunciation | What m or n is doing |
|---|---|---|
| ami | /ami/ | The m is a consonant between two oral vowels. |
| année | /ane/ | The doubled nn gives one /n/ consonant here. |
| nom | /nɔ̃/ | Initial n is a consonant; om marks a nasal vowel. |
| bonne | /bɔn/ | The vowel is oral and the final /n/ is pronounced. |
| bon | /bɔ̃/ | The vowel is nasal; there is no separate final /n/. |
The tilde, the small mark over /ɔ̃/, belongs to the vowel. In nom, the first /n/ still needs a tongue closure. At the end, keep the vowel flowing rather than closing the lips for the written m. That single word shows both jobs clearly: a nasal consonant at the beginning and a nasal vowel at the end.
Locate the consonant in a useful word
Find:
Ma mère connaît notre voisin.
My mother knows our neighbour.
Start with the two lip closures in ma mère, then switch to the initial tongue closure in notre.