French · Food & drink

How to pronounce poisson in French

poisson

Fish

pwah-saw/pwa.sɔ̃/

French of France · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.

poisson is pronounced /pwa.sɔ̃/ in French. In poisson: Let some air pass through the nose while keeping the vowel continuous. The tilde /̃/ marks nasalization. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.

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Find the sounds in poisson

Read poisson in these IPA segments: pwa · sɔ̃. Dots and stress marks identify the boundaries shown in the reference; these symbols are not English spelling. French prominence belongs to the spoken phrase. Do not impose a heavy English-style stress on every isolated word.

  1. 1.Nasal vowels

    In poisson: Let some air pass through the nose while keeping the vowel continuous. The tilde /̃/ marks nasalization.

    Watch out: Do not automatically add a separate n or m after the nasal vowel.

  2. 2.The open /ɔ/ vowel

    In poisson: Round the lips and keep a relatively open jaw. Sustain one vowel rather than moving toward a w sound.

    Watch out: English “oh” often moves during the vowel; follow the steadier sound in the recording.

  3. 3.An open vowel

    In poisson: Open the jaw for the a-like vowel shown in the IPA. Keep it continuous and follow the recording’s tongue position.

    Watch out: Do not substitute the English diphthong in “day”.

Hear it in context

Ce poisson est encore très frais.

This fish is still very fresh.

Listen once, say it aloud, then replay at 1.00×. Keep the word connected to the surrounding sentence rather than giving every syllable equal weight.

Pronunciation and variety

poisson is presented using French of France. Regional accents and connected speech can change details. The isolated word and the example let you compare the dictionary form with a short spoken context.

The English-style respelling is approximate. Use the IPA and recording together for vowel quality and consonants that do not have an exact English equivalent.

Meaning and everyday use

Questions about poisson

How do you pronounce poisson?

poisson is pronounced /pwa.sɔ̃/ in French. In poisson: Let some air pass through the nose while keeping the vowel continuous. The tilde /̃/ marks nasalization. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.

What should I listen for first?

In poisson: Let some air pass through the nose while keeping the vowel continuous. The tilde /̃/ marks nasalization. Start at 0.75×, then return to 1.00× to hear the natural rhythm.

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