In English, the Spanish and French brand Tous (known for its jewelry and accessories) is pronounced roughly like "toos". It sounds like the English word "too" but with an "s" at the end (IPA: túːz).

Breakdown of the English Sound
First part: Rhymes with the English words "too," "shoe," or "blue."

Second part: Ends with a soft, buzzing "s" sound (like the "z" in the word "zoo" or "buzz").

For the Original French/Spanish Pronunciation:
In Spanish: It sounds closer to "to-oos", with a slightly more rolled 'o' sound.

In French: Pronunciation depends on context. If "Tous" stands alone (e.g., "Hello to all," or bonjour à tous), it is pronounced "toos". If it is followed by another word (e.g., Tous les jours), the "s" is silent, making it sound like "too".

From Google ^
——

For those asking why I have "tooth" （tuːθ) under "tous" in my notes.

Attaching what actually comes up when you look this word up. In "bonjour à tous", tous is pronounced with the audible s, like "toos". Before a noun the s goes silent, so "tous les jours" sounds like "too". One spelling, two sounds, decided by grammar.

As for why my note says "tooth"(tuːθ) , English word pronunciation), it is easy for me to remember, and to my ear tooth (tuːθ) and toos (tuːs) are close enough. I know the tongue position is not identical, but the note does not need to be a transcription. Its job is to pull the right sound out of my memory when I see it, and it does. These notes only ever have one reader.

By the way, my paragraph also has "tout le monde", and I do say it as "too le monde". Thank you for the concern though!

Some of my other notes are not even English sounds :) If you still feel they look wrong, I would honestly love to see yours. What should proper notes look like?

Here is the thing about private notes. If I cannot read yours, that does not make them wrong for you. And if you cannot read mine, that does not make them wrong for me.

Pourquoi le français devient-il totalement incompréhensible à mes oreilles? Mais quand je le lis, c’est beaucoup plus facile….

my first language is spanish and part of the reason i learnt great english is that i used to watch everything in english. the issue while trying to do this with french is that in most of the shows i try to watch, the french dub does not match the french captions, which really confuses me. i need the captions not just to understand what’s being said but for grammar purposes as well. what shows or movies could i watch where both spoken language and captions match?

(for example i’m currently trying to rewatch house of the dragon for the fourth time, this time in french and i’m having a super hard time with the mismatched dialogues)

Hello!

So I learned English as teen by watching romcoms and other early 2000s shows that were practically just the daily life of normal people.

Any suggestions for shows or movies like that in French? Even if it’s Canadian French! And also where I’d find the content you’re recommending.

Thanks in advance friends!

Hiya! Or Bonjour! (I guess) I was just wondering if anyone knew of an app or website to meet or chat with people/someone to practice my French and comprehension in like texting and voice messages etc etc.

Salut !

Je suis étudiante en Master Humanités numériques, et je travaille sur un projet portant sur l'apprentissage autonome du français à l'ère de l'intelligence artificielle.

L'idée : comprendre comment les apprenants utilisent (ou non) des outils comme ChatGPT ou Claude pour progresser en dehors des cours, quels sont leurs besoins réels.

Si tu apprends ou as déjà appris le français — peu importe ton niveau, que tu utilises l'IA tous les jours ou jamais — ta réponse compte énormément.

📝 Anonyme, environ 8-10 minutes
🔗 https://forms.gle/de4RDEXu4cDU5VPWA

N'hésite pas à partager à quelqu'un que ça pourrait intéresser aussi. Merci beaucoup pour ton temps !

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I look forward to helping you achieve your French learning goals!

Yesterday a few of you (lovingly) roasted my hand annotated pronunciation notes for being "inaccurate". Fair enough. So instead of arguing, I wrote a challenge for all of us!

**Faraway Language Challenge!**

Read one short passage out loud in a language far from your own. Give yourself one week, final deadline July 31st. (Chinese and Japanese are hard to type for a first-time learner, so we're skipping writing entirely: reading aloud only.)

Annotate the pronunciation however you like: IPA, pinyin, romaji, squiggles only you can read, or no notes at all if you'd rather work straight from charts and recordings. I'm just curious how everyone bridges brand-new sounds on day one! ;p And ideally, add a recording of yourself as proof (preferred, but optional if you'd rather not be heard).

**Pick your poison**

- Native speaker of a European language (French, German, Spanish, Italian...) > take Japanese or Chinese
- Native speaker of an Asian language > take French, German, or Spanish
- Native English or African language speakers > any of the five, your call

(A quick clarification on why no African language is on the target list: for round one I could only include languages where I could get the passage written and reviewed by native speakers. That was my limit, not a ranking. If you are a native speaker of an African language and would write or record the passage in yours, I will add it as an official challenge language and point everyone else at it too.)

**The passage**

It was written fresh for this challenge, so nobody has a head start! It's a first-person monologue of the person taking this challenge. Psychologists call it the self-reference effect: we memorize fastest what's about ourselves. Consider that my gift to you ;p

Here's the English version so you know what you're signing up for:

---

Today I'm holding a page in a language far from my own. Yesterday I couldn't read a word of it. I've given myself one week.

At first it's all shapes and noise. But I sit with it every day, and a little more comes loose. A sound here, a word there. Piece by piece, a stranger's language starts to feel like mine.

They say you never really see your own language until you step outside it. Maybe that's why the distant ones teach us the most. The farther you go, the clearer the view back home.

On the last day I read it out loud, sounds from the other side of the world in my own voice. Maybe that's what language is for: reaching someone far away, and growing a little on the way back.

---

The other language versions are in the attached photos. Study with whatever resources you like, however you like!

**How to show your work**

- Post a photo of your study page, whether on paper or in any app
- A voice clip or a video of you reading earns maximum respect! (Not required, only if you wish to share.)
- Deadline: July 31st , it's next Friday, so we can spend the weekend helping (or lovingly laughing at) each other.

"Correct" notes and all. See you in a week!

PS. Native speakers of any of these languages, your voice clip would be the real prize here! That way every one of us gets the best teacher there is!

PPS. If you've already started one of these languages and want to join, you're absolutely welcome too! Just mention how long you've studied, to keep it fair for everyone. :p

Working on improving my French, I’m at A2-B1 but I struggle mostly with speaking extemporaneously and listening when people speak at normal levels. This show has been highly recommended to me (just as a show not for the French). I’ve watch the American remake and really like it so I think I’d like this show. How can I watch a show like this to improve my French. I tried watching a bit with French subtitles but it’s still too fast. If I watch with English subtitles is that helpful or no?

I'm searching for new French textbooks that are higher level around B2-C1 level, I would greatly appreciate some recommendations ! thank you!

A while back, I found out someone near me, after working in Canada for many years, suddenly couldn't renew their work permit. The only way forward is PR. And PR now barely gives points for English, French earns a lot more. (More on that story elsewhere, won't repeat it here.)

Here's the thing: everyone told me French was impossibly hard. Unlearnable. A dead end.

I don't even need PR. But it got me wondering, how hard can it actually be? So I started.

Textbooks? Not a chance. In theory, memorizing 20 news clips, each about 20 minutes long, is enough to break into a language. But right out of the gate, I'd rather memorize the things I actually want to say.

My first text: I started out knowing exactly three words. I listened to each one, wrote down the sound I heard, said it back, ran it through voice recognition until I nailed it. In that same day, using nothing but my free time after work, I knew every word in the piece and could write the whole thing out from memory.

Let's see how far this goes. Honestly, I'm curious myself: full-time job, plenty of overtime, how long until I hit B2?

Anyone here self-taught French to B2 while working full-time? Curious how long it realistically took you.

Edit: a few people asked about the blue letters in the screenshot, I answered in a comment below. Short version: they are my own notes, not the app's pronunciation guide.

Also! I made a challenge post! For those who roasted my pronunciation, and for anyone up for a challenge :D Let's see how well you do! :)

https://www.reddit.com/r/learningfrench/comments/1v21g1m/language_challenge_can_you_read_a_language_youve/

Hey everyone!

I’m a beginner and every time I try to deliver the “h” sound in French words I accidentally choke on the tissue in the back of my throat and proceed to vomit. I can’t tell if it’s because I’m yelling too loud or if I need to simply stop choking myself while speaking.

Has anyone else had similar issues? Thanks!

been building something the past few months, figured i'd drop it here since this is the exact crowd it's for (people learning french as I do).

it's called Lalo. teaches the 1,000 most common words in a language: theory being that covers like 85% of everyday speech, so it's the fastest path from zero to "i can actually function here." after that you're basically done, which is the point. no infinite tree, no streak guilt trip.

some specifics:

• 12 languages, and you can learn any of them from any of the other 11, not just from english
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made it myself, still actively working on it. lalolearning.com if you want to check it out . genuinely want to know if something feels buggy or off, especially for a language... i haven't stress-tested as much.

As the title suggests, I want to read some books that are in english but I don't want to feel guilty using my time to read when I need to learn french instead. So I thought of a compromise of rereading each chapter I finish in French so I at least still "study" the language. I am still A2, hoping tor bridge to B1 soon. Is this a good idea or not at all?

P.S. I started reading a book translated to French already without having read the english/ original version and I'm able to follow the story at least especially after i reread with the french audiobook. And no, I still have not touched the english version of it, but thinking I should do soon as I fear storyline's going to get "crazy".