French adjectives in English

English contains a lot of adjectives of French origin. One of the features of these adjectives is that they have come from the feminine version of the French adjective, not the masculine version, which is normally the default.

That’s because the feminine version of any French adjective is usually easier for English speakers to pronounce. It has fewer silent consonants. English speakers are used to pronouncing most consonants, so it disturbs them to have to treat one as silent.

English adjectiveFrench adjective masculineMasculine pronunciationFrench adjective feminineFeminine pronunciation
favouritefavoriFAH VOR REEfavoriteFAH VOR REET
petitepetitPEH TEEpetitePEH TEET
blondeblondBLON (silent “n”)blondeBLOND (silent “n”)

Other common mistakes

English speakers (anglophones) will often feminise their pronunciation of French adjectives, even when a masculine adjective is necessary. They will often say “première” when they mean “premier,” or “dernière” when they mean “dernier,” or “prochaine” when they mean “prochain.” Or the classic anglophone pronunciation of “blanc” as [BLONK] instead of as [BLON] (silent “n”).

Try not to make those mistakes, because they may confuse whoever is listening to you.

MasculineMasculine pronunciationFeminineFeminine pronunciation
premierPREM EE AYpremièrePREM EE AIR
dernierDARE NEE AYdernièreDARE NEE AIR
prochainPROH SHANN (silent “nn”)prochainePROH SHEN
blancBLON (silent “n”) blancheBLONSH (silent “n”)

Note: There is a difference between the pronunciation of “blond” and “blanc,” but that is a subject for a future post.

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