bas / banc: the nasal vowel in banc
CEFR A1
bas
/ba/
low
banc
/bɑ̃/
bench
What tells the two sounds apart
- /a/Open oral vowel.
- /ɑ̃/Open nasal vowel; the final n and c in banc are not pronounced.
Why it is hard
Do not read banc with the final consonants of English bank. In this French model the final letters mark a nasal vowel; they do not add an audible n and c.
Le banc est bas.
To practise
- sans/sɑ̃/without
- dans/dɑ̃/in, inside
- sac/sak/bag
- chat/ʃa/cat