7 Hardest Sounds for French Speakers to Pronounce in English

French speakers often face unique challenges when learning English pronunciation. Some sounds simply don’t exist in French, making them tricky to hear and produce. These mispronunciations can affect clarity, confidence, and even how native speakers perceive your English. In this post, we’ll explore the 7 hardest English sounds for French speakers and show how Accentify can help you tackle them effectively.

1. The “TH” Sounds (/θ/ and /ð/)

French doesn’t have the “TH” sounds found in words like think (/θ/) and this (/ð/). Many French speakers substitute “TH” with “z,” “d,” or “s” sounds, saying zis instead of this or sink instead of think.

How to fix it: Practice placing your tongue lightly between your teeth. For the voiceless /θ/ as in think, blow air gently. For the voiced /ð/ as in this, add vocal cord vibration. Accentify offers bite-sized exercises and guided examples so you can master these sounds progressively.

2. The “H” Sound

The English /h/ sound as in hat or home is often dropped by French speakers, who might say at instead of hat. This can make sentences confusing.

How to fix it: Accentify provides pronunciation drills to strengthen the /h/ sound, teaching you how to initiate airflow from the throat without straining.

3. The “R” Sound (/ɹ/)

English “R” is different from the French guttural “R.” Many French speakers pronounce it too far back in the throat, making words like red or car sound unusual to native ears.

How to fix it: Accentify guides learners with exercises that focus on tongue placement and mouth shaping. With professional coach feedback, you can adjust the English “R” naturally without losing your French accent entirely.

4. Short “I” vs Long “E” (Ship vs Sheep)

Distinguishing between short /ɪ/ and long /iː/ is tricky. For example, ship and sheep often get confused, which can lead to misunderstandings.

How to fix it: Accentify’s lessons break words down into minimal pairs, allowing you to practice listening and speaking until the distinction becomes second nature.

5. The /æ/ Sound (Cat vs Cut)

The vowel /æ/ as in cat doesn’t exist in French. French speakers often pronounce it closer to /ɑ/ or /a/, making cat sound like cot.

How to fix it: Accentify demonstrates mouth positioning and tongue height for these vowels, giving you practical exercises to train your mouth and ears simultaneously.

6. Ending Consonants (e.g., “-ed,” “-s”)

French speakers often drop final consonants, saying walk instead of walked, or book instead of books. This can affect verb tense and plurality, making your speech less precise.

How to fix it: Accentify encourages voice submissions, where professional accent coaches listen and provide feedback on tricky consonants, helping you maintain clarity.

7. The Schwa /ə/ Sound

The weak “uh” sound occurs in many unstressed syllables (about, sofa, banana). French speakers often stress every syllable, which makes English speech sound unnatural.

How to fix it: Accentify’s lessons teach stress and intonation patterns, helping you reduce unnecessary emphasis and sound more fluent and natural.

Fine-Tune Your English Pronunciation with Accentify

French speakers face unique pronunciation challenges, but with consistent practice and the right guidance, these hurdles can be overcome. Accentify combines bite-sized lessons, Tify AI support, and professional accent coach feedback to help learners tackle tricky sounds, master regional accents, and speak confidently in any context.

Download Accentify today and start perfecting your English pronunciation.