French text to speech, judged on reading
A synthetic voice knows how to pronounce words. Reading French asks for something else: deciding how to say a number, an acronym, a date, a place name. If you are buying French audio without speaking French, here is exactly what to listen for.
No card required · 327 voices auditioned one by one · 23 reading languages
The six point test
Run it on any tool, ours included. Every one of these is a specific failure you can have confirmed in ten seconds, which is the point: an adjective cannot be checked.
Numbers
Paste a council vote written 23-11. It must be heard as vingt-trois contre onze, never as vingt-trois tiret onze. Then try a percentage with a comma (1,7 %), a date, and a time. French writes decimals with a comma, and an engine trained mostly on English tends to read the comma as a pause.
Acronyms
SNCF is spelled out letter by letter. ONU is said as a word. CNIL is said as a word too. An engine that treats all three the same way is audible within a second to any French speaker, and it is the single fastest test you can run.
Proper nouns
Take a Breton or Basque place name from your own content, plus one surname of an official you quote often. These are where generic engines fail, and where nothing in a demo will warn you, because demos never contain them.
Liaisons
Les anciens élus must flow as one phrase, not three detached words. This is the hardest thing to fake and the easiest to hear: ask any French speaker to listen to a single sentence, and they will tell you in one pass whether the voice is reading or reciting.
Breathing
A full stop is not a comma, and a parenthetical clause is not a sentence. Listen for whether every pause has the same length. Fixed-duration silences are the signature of a voice that gives every punctuation mark the same treatment, and no amount of text preparation upstream will fix that.
The exact word at the exact second
Ask whether the engine returns word level timings. Without them there is no synced highlighting, no click-to-jump, and no way to fix one sentence without paying to resynthesise the whole article. Many engines that sound good cannot do this at all.
Our own scorecard, failures included
We are not asking you to take our word for it. Here is what our reading layer holds today, category by category, and what it misses.
Measured when this page is rendered, on the same cases as our offline test bench. It cannot be a stale figure: the day a rule breaks, the score drops here the same day.
- Numbers6/6
- Dates and times7/7
- Surnames and unit designations6/6
- Amounts of money5/5
- Percentages and units12/12
- Retail and field units29/29
- Scores and ranges6/6
- Ordinals6/6
- Reference numbers4/4
- Regulatory references6/6
- Signs and polarity3/3
- Titles and abbreviations8/8
- Roads2/2
- Paths and handles3/3
- Acronyms4/4
- Email and domains2/2
- Texts left untouched35/35
No case is failing today. That does not mean French is solved: the bench holds what we know how to state as a rule. Homographs, for one, are flagged and not corrected.
All 144 cases, one by one, with the trap each one sets
You do not need French to use this table. For each case: what a journalist writes, what our engine actually says, and the mistake an engine that does not know French makes instead. Take any line to a French speaking colleague and they will confirm or contradict it in one pass.
The example sentences stay in French, because they are the thing being tested. The middle column is computed while this page renders, not copied in: if a rule breaks, this page shows it before a customer reports it.
Numbers
6 / 6- What is written
Ils étaient 12 500 dans la rue.What is spokenIls étaient douze mille cinq cents dans la rue. - What is written
Le budget atteint 2,5 milliards.What is spokenLe budget atteint deux virgule cinq milliards. - What is written
Quatre-vingts places, dont 81 réservées.What is spokenQuatre-vingts places, dont quatre-vingt-un réservées. - What is written
Le texte de 1998 fait foi.What is spokenLe texte de mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-huit fait foi. - What is written
La version 1.2.0 est sortie.What is spokenLa version un point deux point zéro est sortie.The trap“un.2.0”: the first group read, the rest left to the engine as raw digits.
- What is written
Une hausse de 4.5 % sur l'année.What is spokenUne hausse de quatre virgule cinq pour cent sur l'année.The trap“quatre.cinq pour cent”: a decimal written with a dot, read halfway.
Dates and times
7 / 7- What is written
Le 15/07/2026 au matin.What is spokenLe quinze juillet deux mille vingt-six au matin. - What is written
Le 01/01/2027 à minuit.What is spokenLe premier janvier deux mille vingt-sept à minuit.The trap“un janvier”: the first of the month is the only day of the month that takes an ordinal.
- What is written
Rendez-vous à 21h00.What is spokenRendez-vous à vingt et une heures.The trap“vingt et un h zéro zéro”: the letter spelled out and the zero minutes recited.
- What is written
Réunion à 14h30.What is spokenRéunion à quatorze heures trente.The trap“quatorze h trente”, the abbreviation read instead of expanded.
- What is written
L'audience est fixée au 4/09.What is spokenL'audience est fixée au quatre septembre.The trapA date with no year, the normal form in a diary or a court list, read as a fraction.
- What is written
Ouverture à 9 h 15.What is spokenOuverture à neuf heures quinze.The trap“neuf h quinze”, the same fault with the typographically correct spacing.
- What is written
Le train de 8h45.What is spokenLe train de huit heures quarante-cinq.
Surnames and unit designations
6 / 6- What is written
Les généraux GILLES, DECHAUX et BODET sont à bord.What is spokenLes généraux Gilles, Dechaux et Bodet sont à bord.The trapA family name set in capitals, read out letter by letter as if it were an acronym.
- What is written
Le colonel NICOT prend la décision.What is spokenLe colonel Nicot prend la décision.The trapThe same mistake on a single name, right after its rank.
- What is written
Monsieur DUPONT et Madame MARTIN.What is spokenMonsieur Dupont et Madame Martin.The trapFrench administrative style sets surnames in capitals, well beyond the military.
- What is written
Le GT 2/64 Anjou décolle de Hanoï.What is spokenLe gé té deux soixante-quatre Anjou décolle de Hanoï.The trapThe slash of a unit designation recited as a word.
- What is written
L'adjoint de NAVARRE est à bord.What is spokenL'adjoint de Navarre est à bord.The trapA surname behind a title that takes a person as its complement.
- What is written
L'escadron EC 1/7 est engagé.What is spokenL'escadron EC un sept est engagé.The trapSame shape, different service: the slash is no more spoken there.
Amounts of money
5 / 5- What is written
Un billet à 150 €.What is spokenUn billet à cent cinquante euros. - What is written
Un ticket à 1 €.What is spokenUn ticket à un euro. - What is written
Un budget de 1,5 M€.What is spokenUn budget d'un virgule cinq million d'euros.The trap“un virgule cinq M euros”, the magnitude abbreviation left exactly as it stands.
- What is written
Une amende de 2 Md€.What is spokenUne amende de deux milliards d'euros.The trap“deux M D euros”, the two letters spelled out one after the other.
- What is written
Un prix de 12 $.What is spokenUn prix de douze dollars.The trapThe symbol swallowed, or read before the number as it would be in English.
Percentages and units
12 / 12- What is written
Une hausse de 67,8 %.What is spokenUne hausse de soixante-sept virgule huit pour cent. - What is written
Une pointe à 34,8 km/h.What is spokenUne pointe à trente-quatre virgule huit kilomètres-heure. - What is written
Un trajet de 12 km.What is spokenUn trajet de douze kilomètres. - What is written
Au km 30, il abandonne.What is spokenAu kilomètre trente, il abandonne.The trap“au k m trente”: the race marker, the unit before the number.
- What is written
Un marathon de 42,195 km.What is spokenUn marathon de quarante-deux virgule cent quatre-vingt-quinze kilomètres.The trap“virgule un neuf cinq”: three decimals read digit by digit, like a code.
- What is written
Une hausse de 3 °C.What is spokenUne hausse de trois degrés.The trap“trois degré C”: the symbol read out and the plural agreement missed.
- What is written
Il fait 30° à l'ombre.What is spokenIl fait trente degrés à l'ombre. - What is written
Une note de 15/20 au bac.What is spokenUne note de quinze sur vingt au bac.The trapThe one French slash that is said “sur”, and the most frequent one in education coverage.
- What is written
Une hausse de +15 % sur un an.What is spokenUne hausse de plus quinze pour cent sur un an.The trap“+quinze pour cent”: the plus sign left to the voice, which swallows it.
- What is written
Un taux de 0,5 ‰ autorisé.What is spokenUn taux de zéro virgule cinq pour mille autorisé.The trapThe per-mille symbol spelled out, or taken for a percentage.
- What is written
Un studio de 25 m2 à louer.What is spokenUn studio de vingt-cinq mètres carrés à louer.The trap“vingt-cinq m deux”: the superscript the keyboard lacks, typed as a digit.
- What is written
La fibre monte à 300 Mb/s.What is spokenLa fibre monte à trois cents mégabits par seconde.The trap“trois cents M B slash S”: a data rate spelled symbol by symbol.
Retail and field units
29 / 29- What is written
Support disponible 24/7/365.What is spokenSupport disponible vingt-quatre heures sur vingt-quatre, sept jours sur sept, trois cent soixante-cinq jours par an.The trap“vingt-quatre juillet trois cent soixante-cinq”: availability read as a date.
- What is written
Séjour en ½ pension.What is spokenSéjour en demi-pension.The trap“en une demi-pension”: one article too many after “en”.
- What is written
Il a passé 1 500 h 30 en vol.What is spokenIl a passé mille cinq cents heures trente en vol.The trap“mille cinq cents h trente”: the hour letter left alone.
- What is written
Il a effectué 10 000 h de vol.What is spokenIl a effectué dix mille heures de vol.The trap“dix zéro heure”: only the last group of the number read as a duration.
- What is written
Les ½ finales ont lieu demain.What is spokenLes demi-finales ont lieu demain.The trap“les une demi-finales”: one article too many before the fraction.
- What is written
Les escadrons 1/12 et 2/12 décollent.What is spokenLes escadrons un douze et deux douze décollent.The trap“et deux décembre”: the second unit of a list read as a date.
- What is written
Il transporte 1 000 000 t de charbon.What is spokenIl transporte un million de tonnes de charbon.The trap“une million tonnes”: the feminine put on the million, and “de” forgotten.
- What is written
Ouvert de 14h-18h le samedi.What is spokenOuvert de quatorze heures à dix-huit heures le samedi.The trap“quatorze heures-dix-huit heures”: the time range read in one breath, without “à”.
- What is written
Il reste ½ heure de cuisson.What is spokenIl reste une demi-heure de cuisson.The trapThe “½” sign left as is, which the voice cannot say.
- What is written
Un mur de 1 m de haut.What is spokenUn mur d'un mètre de haut.The trap“de un mètre”: the elision everyone makes aloud, forgotten before a number.
- What is written
Un camion de 19 t roule.What is spokenUn camion de dix-neuf tonnes roule.The trap“dix-neuf t”: the tonne left as its letter, in the haulage press.
- What is written
Un poids lourd de 21 t.What is spokenUn poids lourd de vingt et une tonnes.The trap“vingt et un tonnes”: tonne is feminine, and the number agrees.
- What is written
Le Gal de Gaulle et le Mal Leclerc entrent.What is spokenLe général de Gaulle et le maréchal Leclerc entrent.The trap“le Gal de Gaulle”: the rank left abbreviated, read as an unknown word.
- What is written
Le S/Lt Bernard rejoint la 3e Cie.What is spokenLe sous-lieutenant Bernard rejoint la troisième compagnie.The trap“S slash L T”, “C I E”: a war diary spelled out letter by letter.
- What is written
L'escadron 1/12 Cambrésis décolle.What is spokenL'escadron un douze Cambrésis décolle.The trap“premier décembre”: a unit designation read as a date.
- What is written
Le GC II/5 La Fayette attaque.What is spokenLe gé cé deux cinq La Fayette attaque.The trap“deux barre cinq”, or “deux cinquièmes”: the fighter group read as a fraction.
- What is written
Un cadre de 40 x 60 cm.What is spokenUn cadre de quarante sur soixante centimètres.The trap“quarante x soixante”: the dimension sign read out as the letter.
- What is written
Une bouteille de 75 cl.What is spokenUne bouteille de soixante-quinze centilitres.The trap“soixante-quinze c l”: the abbreviation spelled out letter by letter.
- What is written
Un écran de 27" à 144 Hz.What is spokenUn écran de vingt-sept pouces à cent quarante-quatre hertz.The trapThe inch mark swallowed, or taken for the end of a quotation.
- What is written
Un chargeur de 65 W.What is spokenUn chargeur de soixante-cinq watts.The trap“soixante-cinq double-vé”: the unit symbol spelled out.
- What is written
À 800 m au nord de la piste.What is spokenÀ huit cents mètres au nord de la piste.The trap“huit cents m”: the metre left as a bare letter.
- What is written
Il mesure 3 m de haut.What is spokenIl mesure trois mètres de haut.The trap“trois m de haut”: the metre left as a bare letter, for fear of an abbreviated million.
- What is written
Le repli est fixé à J+3.What is spokenLe repli est fixé à J plus trois.The trap“J trois”: the countdown sign swallowed.
- What is written
Le feu reprend à 0430.What is spokenLe feu reprend à quatre heures trente.The trap“quatre cent trente”: a military time read as a plain number.
- What is written
Prix : 49,99 € au lieu de 69,90 €.What is spokenPrix : quarante-neuf euros quatre-vingt-dix-neuf au lieu de soixante-neuf euros quatre-vingt-dix.The trap“quarante-neuf virgule quatre-vingt-dix-neuf euros”: a price read like a measurement.
- What is written
Tomates à 3,90 €/kg.What is spokenTomates à trois euros quatre-vingt-dix le kilo.The trap“trois virgule quatre-vingt-dix euros barre k g”: the unit price recited sign by sign.
- What is written
Noté 4,5/5 par 120 clients.What is spokenNoté quatre virgule cinq sur cinq par cent vingt clients.The trap“quatre virgule cinq cinquièmes”, or the slash read out as it stands.
- What is written
Livraison en 48 h, service 7j/7.What is spokenLivraison en quarante-huit heures, service sept jours sur sept.The trap“quarante-huit h”, “sept j barre sept”: a duration taken for a clock time that does not exist.
- What is written
Code EAN 3760123456789.What is spokenCode EAN trois sept six zéro un deux trois quatre cinq six sept huit neuf.The trap“trois billions sept cent soixante milliards…”: a product code read as a quantity.
Scores and ranges
6 / 6- What is written
Le match s'achève sur un 3-1 net.What is spokenLe match s'achève sur un trois à un net.The trap“trois moins un”: the hyphen taken for a minus sign, and the score turns into a subtraction.
- What is written
Le règlement 23-11 s'applique.What is spokenLe règlement vingt-trois tiret onze s'applique.The trapTreated as a sports score, when the surrounding words say it is a reference.
- What is written
Il faut compter 2-3 jours.What is spokenIl faut compter deux à trois jours.The trap“deux moins trois jours”: the range becomes a negative subtraction.
- What is written
Éliminé en 1/8e de finale.What is spokenÉliminé en huitième de finale.The trap“un sur huit e de finale”, the round of the competition read as a division.
- What is written
Éliminé en 1/4 de finale.What is spokenÉliminé en quart de finale.The trap“un slash quatre de finale”, the slash pronounced.
- What is written
Un ratio de 1/3 des voix.What is spokenUn ratio d'un tiers des voix.The trap“un troisième”: a genuine fraction taken for a competition round, for want of reading the context.
Ordinals
6 / 6- What is written
La 1re chaîne.What is spokenLa première chaîne. - What is written
Le 1er tour.What is spokenLe premier tour. - What is written
Classé 2e du groupe.What is spokenClassé deuxième du groupe. - What is written
Au IIIe millénaire.What is spokenAu troisième millénaire. - What is written
Louis XIV a régné.What is spokenLouis quatorze a régné. - What is written
Le chapitre IV du tome II.What is spokenLe chapitre quatre du tome deux.
Reference numbers
4 / 4- What is written
Le n°10 français.What is spokenLe numéro dix français.The trap“n degré dix”: the number sign confused with the one for degrees.
- What is written
Appelez le 02 99 12 34 56.What is spokenAppelez le zéro deux, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf, douze, trente-quatre, cinquante-six. - What is written
Selon l'article L. 123-4 du code.What is spokenSelon l'article L cent vingt-trois tiret quatre du code.The trap“L point cent vingt-trois moins quatre”: the full stop read out, the hyphen taken for a minus sign.
- What is written
Les 3/4 des habitants.What is spokenLes trois quarts des habitants.The trap“trois sur quatre”, the fraction treated as an arithmetic division.
Regulatory references
6 / 6- What is written
La directive 2019/882 s'applique.What is spokenLa directive deux mille dix-neuf, huit cent quatre-vingt-deux s'applique.The trap“deux mille dix-neuf slash huit huit deux”: the slash pronounced and the number spelled digit by digit. This is the European Accessibility Act, so it appears in every article on the subject.
- What is written
Le règlement (UE) 2016/679 encadre les données.What is spokenLe règlement (UE) deux mille seize, six cent soixante-dix-neuf encadre les données.The trapThe most-quoted regulation of the decade, read as a date followed by a division.
- What is written
Le décret n° 2019-768 du 24 juillet.What is spokenLe décret numéro deux mille dix-neuf tiret sept cent soixante-huit du vingt-quatre juillet.The trap“deux mille dix-neuf-768”: the year converted, the number left in digits, and the two glued together.
- What is written
La loi n° 2005-102 fixe le cadre.What is spokenLa loi numéro deux mille cinq tiret cent deux fixe le cadre.The trapThe same fault, on the founding text of French accessibility law.
- What is written
Le règlement d'exécution 2021/1232.What is spokenLe règlement d'exécution deux mille vingt et un, mille deux cent trente-deux.The trapOne word between the trigger and the number is enough to make an over-strict rule lose the thread.
- What is written
En vertu de l'article 222-13 du code pénal.What is spokenEn vertu de l'article deux cent vingt-deux tiret treize du code pénal.The trapA code reference with no letter in it: neither score, nor date, nor plain number, so left as it stands.
Signs and polarity
3 / 3- What is written
Une température de -5 °C.What is spokenUne température de moins cinq degrés.The trapThe sign swallowed: a negative temperature becomes a positive one, and nothing in the audio flags it.
- What is written
Un déficit de -2,3 %.What is spokenUn déficit de moins deux virgule trois pour cent. - What is written
Une baisse de -4 points.What is spokenUne baisse de moins quatre points.
Titles and abbreviations
8 / 8- What is written
M. Dupont a répondu à Mme Martin.What is spokenMonsieur Dupont a répondu à Madame Martin.The trap“m Dupont” or “em Dupont”: the courtesy title spelled out or swallowed.
- What is written
Le Dr Durand et le Pr Legrand.What is spokenLe docteur Durand et le professeur Legrand.The trapTwo titles read as syllables, in a sentence where they carry the authority.
- What is written
Le Lt Martin rejoint le Cne Bodet.What is spokenLe lieutenant Martin rejoint le capitaine Bodet.The trap“elle tay Martin”: the abbreviated military rank of war histories, read as two letters.
- What is written
Voir p. 12, cf. l'annexe.What is spokenVoir page douze, voir l'annexe.The trap“pé point douze”: the typographic abbreviation recited letter by letter.
- What is written
Des vélos, des trottinettes, etc.What is spokenDes vélos, des trottinettes, et cetera.The trap“èt cé”: the commonest Latin abbreviation in French, read as an acronym.
- What is written
M. Deschamps parle.What is spokenMonsieur Deschamps parle.The trap“em Deschamps”, or the full stop taken for the end of the sentence and the name cut off from its title.
- What is written
L'expo est ouverte du mar. au dim.What is spokenL'expo est ouverte du mardi au dimanche.The trapWeekdays abbreviated the way a listings diary writes them, read “mar” and “dim” as syllables.
- What is written
Un coût de 1,2 M€ HT.What is spokenUn coût d'un virgule deux million d'euros hors taxes.The trap“ache té”: the tax-status marker spelled out as though it were an acronym.
Roads
2 / 2- What is written
L'A83 est coupée dans les deux sens.What is spokenL'a quatre-vingt-trois est coupée dans les deux sens.The trap“a quatre-vingt-trois” swallowed or spelled digit by digit, and the name of the road disappears.
- What is written
La D137 rouvre à la circulation.What is spokenLa dé cent trente-sept rouvre à la circulation.The trapA secondary road read as though it were a product code.
Paths and handles
3 / 3- What is written
Rendez-vous sur wedispatch.fr/tarifs.What is spokenRendez-vous sur ouidispatch point fr slash tarifs.The trapThe silent path: the address is dictated by halves, so a listener cannot write it down.
- What is written
Suivez #Rennes2026 sur les réseaux.What is spokenSuivez hashtag Rennes deux mille vingt-six sur les réseaux.The trapThe hash swallowed and the year glued to the name, so never converted.
- What is written
Un débit de 100 Mo/s.What is spokenUn débit de cent mégaoctets par seconde.The trapThe slash of a compound unit left as it stands once the unit itself has been expanded.
Acronyms
4 / 4- What is written
La SNCF annonce.What is spokenLa Société nationale des chemins de fer français annonce.The trap“sancef”, an attempt to read as a word an acronym that French spells out.
- What is written
L'ARS a publié.What is spokenL'Agence régionale de santé a publié.The trap“ars” read as an ordinary word, and never expanded for the listener.
- What is written
Le CHU de Rennes.What is spokenLe centre hospitalier universitaire de Rennes.The trap“chu” read as a French past participle.
- What is written
La PLV du magasin.What is spokenLa pé elle vé du magasin.
Email and domains
2 / 2- What is written
Écrivez à contact@fifa.com.What is spokenÉcrivez à contact arobase fifa point com. - What is written
Rendez-vous sur wedispatch.fr.What is spokenRendez-vous sur ouidispatch point fr.The trapThe dot taken for the end of a sentence, and the address cut in two.
Texts to leave untouched
35 / 35These must come out UNCHANGED. They count in the score like every other case, and this is the most neglected half of the subject: a system that only counted the cases to fix would score better by growing more aggressive, and would damage texts that had nothing wrong with them.
- What is written
Le col du Galibier est fermé.What is spokenLe col du Galibier est fermé. - What is written
Le patron de SNCF a parlé.What is spokenLe patron de Société nationale des chemins de fer français a parlé.The trapA company acronym mistaken for a surname and lowercased.
- What is written
Le rendez-vous de l'été.What is spokenLe rendez-vous de l'été. - What is written
Ce dossier est complet.What is spokenCe dossier est complet. - What is written
M. J. Deschamps a signé.What is spokenM. J. Deschamps a signé. - What is written
Un chiffre d'affaires de 3 m d'euros.What is spokenUn chiffre d'affaires de trois m d'euros.The trap“trois mètres d'euros”: a hastily abbreviated million taken for a metre.
- What is written
Il a dit "rendez-vous en 1954".What is spokenIl a dit "rendez-vous en mille neuf cent cinquante-quatre".The trap“mille neuf cent cinquante-quatre pouces”: the quote closing a citation taken for an inch mark.
- What is written
Windows x64 est requis.What is spokenWindows x64 est requis. - What is written
Le code 0421 est valide.What is spokenLe code quatre cent vingt et un est valide.The trap“quatre heures vingt et une”: four digits taken for a military time.
- What is written
Fondée av. la guerre.What is spokenFondée av. la guerre. - What is written
La FIFA se réunit.What is spokenLa FIFA se réunit. - What is written
C'est LE rendez-vous.What is spokenC'est LE rendez-vous. - What is written
Le MIDI de la France.What is spokenLe MIDI de la France. - What is written
Section C du règlement.What is spokenSection C du règlement. - What is written
Jean-Claude V. a parlé.What is spokenJean-Claude V. a parlé. - What is written
Le modèle 25 M2 Pro sort.What is spokenLe modèle vingt-cinq M2 Pro sort.The trapA model name taken for a floor area: “vingt-cinq mètres carrés Pro”.
- What is written
Gal Gadot joue Wonder Woman.What is spokenGal Gadot joue Wonder Woman. - What is written
Le Bon Marché ouvre ses portes.What is spokenLe Bon Marché ouvre ses portes. - What is written
La photo de une du Monde.What is spokenLa photo de une du Monde. - What is written
Né le 24/7 à Lyon.What is spokenNé le vingt-quatre juillet à Lyon.The trap“born on twenty-four seven”: a date taken for round-the-clock availability.
- What is written
La formule a+b=c est connue.What is spokenLa formule a+b=c est connue. - What is written
Concert samedi 24/7 à 20 h.What is spokenConcert samedi vingt-quatre juillet à vingt heures.The trapA diary date taken for round-the-clock availability.
- What is written
La 4L de mon père roule encore.What is spokenLa 4L de mon père roule encore. - What is written
Une Golf GTI 16V rouge.What is spokenUne Golf GTI 16V rouge. - What is written
Une huile 5W-30 pour le moteur.What is spokenUne huile 5W-30 pour le moteur. - What is written
Signé Yann Le Gal Directeur.What is spokenSigné Yann Le Gal Directeur. - What is written
Le Mal de Montano est un roman.What is spokenLe Mal de Montano est un roman. - What is written
Il a roulé 2 t de piste.What is spokenIl a roulé deux t de piste.The trapA lap taken for a tonne: “deux tonnes de piste”.
- What is written
Le Président de la République parle.What is spokenLe Président de la République parle. - What is written
La Drôme est une belle région.What is spokenLa Drôme est une belle région. - What is written
La 4L de Julien est garée.What is spokenLa 4L de Julien est garée. - What is written
Le Mal Aimé est un téléfilm.What is spokenLe Mal Aimé est un téléfilm. - What is written
Le Gal Costa chante ce soir.What is spokenLe Gal Costa chante ce soir. - What is written
Le réservoir de sa 4L fuit.What is spokenLe réservoir de sa 4L fuit. - What is written
Le moteur du camion tourne à 3000 t/min.What is spokenLe moteur du camion tourne à trois mille tours par minute.The trapThe revolution taken for a tonne: “trois mille tonnes par minute”.
Think a case is missing? Send it to us : it will join the scorecard, and the figure will move in plain sight.
Buying French audio in an English speaking team
The decision is usually made by people who will never hear the mistake, and lived with by people who hear nothing else.
Bilingual sites and public bodies
Canadian organisations, EU institutions, Belgian and Swiss publishers: the French version of a page is not a nice-to-have, it is often a legal or contractual obligation. Audio that sounds wrong in one language and right in the other is worse than no audio at all.
International media with a French edition
The English desk owns the tooling decision, the French desk lives with it. One player, one configuration, a different voice per language, and the settings do not fork between the two.
Agencies and product teams shipping for a French client
You need the integration to be boring: a WordPress plugin, an API, or a single script tag. And you need the pronunciation of client-specific names to be fixable once, by them, without a ticket to you.
Quality over volume
What we are not trying to do matters as much as the rest, and is better said now than discovered in month three.
We do not sell characters by the kilo
Most tools compare themselves on the price per million characters. That is a useful number for an invoice and a useless one for a reader: nobody listens to a million characters, they listen to one article. What matters is how many people reach the end, and that is what the product measures.
Fixing beats regenerating
One mispronounced name in the middle of an eight minute article should not cost eight minutes of synthesis. The passage is corrected, the rest of the audio does not move.
Corrections accumulate
The pronunciation lexicon, voices per section, voice rules: every correction you make once applies to everything that follows. A tool that remembers nothing makes you start over every week.
Nothing is collected from your listeners
The player sets no cookie and keeps neither IP address nor fingerprint. Plays are counted, people are not tracked. It is a design decision rather than a setting.
What you can do with it
WordPress sites
The audio is built as you publish, with no extra step for the newsroom.
The WordPress plugin →Accessibility
Synced text, reading controls, compliance: audio opens your content to people who do not read on screen.
Accessibility →Sites and applications
A single script tag, the API, or an MCP server to drive it from an assistant.
The documentation →Choosing well before you commit
Seven questions to ask any vendor, ours included, and a trap test text to take with you.
The seven questions →Frequently asked
What makes French harder than English for a speech engine?
Not the voice, the reading. Before anything is spoken, the text has to be resolved: how a number is said, whether an acronym is spelled or pronounced, where a liaison belongs, how long a pause lasts. English hides more of these decisions than French does, and most engines are trained predominantly on English.
I do not speak French. How do I evaluate this?
Run the six point test above on your own content, then have one French speaking colleague listen to a single paragraph. One pass is enough: the failures listed here are audible immediately to a native ear, which is precisely why we chose them rather than adjectives.
Does it cover Belgian, Swiss and Canadian French?
Yes. The reading rules (numbers, acronyms, punctuation) are the same, and you choose the voice that suits your readership. The pronunciation lexicon lets you impose local usage on top.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. The free account includes a monthly amount of audio with no card required, and the WordPress plugin downloads without even creating an account.
Which other languages are supported?
23 reading languages in all, from Spanish and German to Hindi, Arabic and Japanese, each with native voices. French is still where the reading work went, and we say so plainly rather than claiming every one of them is equally polished.
Where is the data processed?
Text preparation happens in the European Union, and the player keeps nothing about your listeners. The security page describes the full chain, including the parts that are not European today.
Listen before you decide
Voice one of your own articles and judge on that, not on a demo chosen to sound good.