pronounciation confusion

D. A.A2Kwiziq community member

pronounciation confusion

i am confused by how vaisselle was pronounced


i thought that double ls always made a y sound like in fille, pronounced “feeye”

Asked 4 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Zara, 

I have changed the audio for a better one, and as has been said, the word vaisselle doesn't have a 'ye' sound as it doesn't have an 'i.

 i + lle= ye 

but not always as pointed out by Alan. (ville - mille- tranquille being the main exceptions) 

The words

veille = day before

and

vieille = old

sound a ye

so do -

chenille = slug

fille = girl

coquille = shell/typo

mouillé =wet

etc.

Hope this helps!

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Suggest you try this link and click on the speaker to hear the pronunciation.

 https://www.wordreference.com/fren/vaisselle

You appear to have misunderstood when the "feeye" sound is appropriate.

Hope that you find this input helpful

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

That's only true when the letter "i" comes before the "ll", and not always then. (The main exceptions are "mille" and "ville".)

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/pronunciation/ll/

D. A. asked:

pronounciation confusion

i am confused by how vaisselle was pronounced


i thought that double ls always made a y sound like in fille, pronounced “feeye”

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
I'll be right with you...