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French is written with the same twenty-six letters as English, together with three accents, the diaeresis (tréma), the cedilla and the ligature œ. Spelling and sound correspond far more regularly than in English: once the letter groups are known, almost any written word can be read aloud correctly. The difficulties for an English speaker lie elsewhere: the vowels that English does not have, the nasal vowels, the r, and the many letters that are written but not said.
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The French alphabet
The names of most letters are close to their English names, but the vowels and several consonants are said differently. The names of b, c, d, g, p, t and v end in a pure vowel with no glide: b is “bay” said short and steady, never “bee”.
A letter’s name is what you say when you spell a word aloud, for example your name or address on the phone.
| Letter | Name | Sounds | Examples | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a /a/ | /a/ | ami | short, between the “a” of “cat” and the “a” of “father”; never as in “late” “ah”, short |
| B b | bé /be/ | /b/ | bon | “bay”, short and steady |
| C c | cé /se/ | /k/ · /s/ | café citron | “say”, short and steady |
| D d | dé /de/ | /d/ | dame | “day”, short and steady |
| E e | e /ə/ | /ə/ · /ɛ/ · /e/ | petit mer nez | petit: like the “a” of “about”; mer: like the “e” of “bed”; nez: like the “ay” of “day”, short and steady like the “a” of “about” |
| F f | effe /ɛf/ | /f/ | fille | |
| G g | gé /ʒe/ | /ɡ/ · /ʒ/ | gare girafe | before e, i or y, like the “s” of “measure”, never like the “j” of “jam” the “s” of “measure” followed by “ay” |
| H h | ache /aʃ/ | silent | hôtel | never said “ash” |
| I i | i /i/ | /i/ | lit | like the “ee” of “see”, but short “ee” |
| J j | ji /ʒi/ | /ʒ/ | joli | like the “s” of “measure” the “s” of “measure” followed by “ee” |
| K k | ka /ka/ | /k/ | kilo | “kah” |
| L l | elle /ɛl/ | /l/ | lune | |
| M m | emme /ɛm/ | /m/ | mère | |
| N n | enne /ɛn/ | /n/ | nez | |
| O o | o /o/ | /o/ · /ɔ/ | mot porte | mot: “oh” with no glide towards “oo”; porte: close to the “o” of “hot” “oh”, with no glide towards “oo” |
| P p | pé /pe/ | /p/ | pain | “pay”, short and steady |
| Q q | ku /ky/ | /k/ | cinq | at the end of cinq; elsewhere it is nearly always written qu “k” followed by the French u |
| R r | erre /ɛʁ/ | /ʁ/ | rue | made at the back of the throat, close to a light gargle the “e” of “bed” followed by the French r |
| S s | esse /ɛs/ | /s/ · /z/ | sac rose | [z] between two vowels, as in rose; [s] elsewhere |
| T t | té /te/ | /t/ · /s/ | table nation | [s] in -tion, never “sh”; [t] after s, as in question “tay”, short and steady |
| U u | u /y/ | /y/ | tu | “ee” said with the lips rounded as for “oo” “ee” said with the lips rounded as for “oo” |
| V v | vé /ve/ | /v/ | vous | “vay”, short and steady |
| W w | double vé /dubləve/ | /v/ · /w/ | wagon kiwi | [v] in a few words such as wagon; [w] in most others: kiwi, week-end double vé, “double v” |
| X x | ics /iks/ | /ks/ · /ɡz/ · /s/ | taxi examen six | [ks] in taxi; [ɡz] in ex- before a vowel; [s] in six and dix “eeks” |
| Y y | i grec /iɡʁɛk/ | /i/ · /j/ | stylo yeux | [i] like i; [j] like the “y” of “yes” i grec, “Greek i” |
| Z z | zède /zɛd/ | /z/ | zéro | “zed”, as in British English |
Difference from English
The names of g and j are the reverse of the English ones: the French g sounds like the English name of j, and the French j like the English name of g. The French e is close to “uh”, and the French i sounds like the English name of e. These letters are the ones most often confused when a name or an e-mail address is spelt aloud.
French has no extra letters. Accented letters are not separate letters of the alphabet: é, è and ê are sorted with e, ç with c, and the ligature œ as oe. The letters k and w are found almost only in words borrowed from other languages: kilo, wagon, week-end.
When a word is spelt aloud (« Comment ça s’écrit ? »), a double letter is announced as deux: Bonnet is spelt B, O, deux N, E, T. An accent is named after its letter: e accent aigu (é), e accent grave (è), e accent circonflexe (ê), c cédille (ç), i tréma (ï). A capital is majuscule, a small letter minuscule, a hyphen trait d’union (or tiret, in an e-mail address) and an apostrophe apostrophe.
- Comment ça s’écrit ?How do you spell it?
- Ça s’écrit avec deux l.It is spelt with a double l.
- E accent aiguE acute
Most consonants are said as in English. The vowels are where French differs most: each is said short, steady and with no glide, and u has no equivalent in English.
Hard and soft c and g
As in English, c and g are hard before a, o, u and before a consonant, and soft before e, i and y. A soft c is said [s]; a soft g is said [ʒ], like the “s” of “measure”. To keep a c soft before a, o or u, a cedilla is added: ça, garçon. To keep a g soft, an e is added: nous mangeons. To keep a g hard before e or i, a u is added: guitare.
Common mistakes
nation said “nay-shun”→ nation is said [nasjɔ̃].In -tion, the t is said [s], and on is a nasal vowel.rue said like roue→ rue [ʁy], roue [ʁu].U and ou are two different sounds, and they distinguish words: tu (“you”), tout (“all”).
Practise
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Letter combinations
In French, many single sounds are written with two or three letters. A group such as ou, eau or ain is read as one sound, never letter by letter. When a vowel is followed by n or m in the same syllable, the two letters are read together as a nasal vowel: the vowel is said through the nose and the n or m is not heard.
| Spelling | Sounds | Examples | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| ou | /u/ · /w/ | tout oui | like the “oo” of “food”; [w] before a vowel, as in oui |
| oi | /wa/ | moi | said “wa” |
| oy | /waj/ | voyage | “wa” followed by the “y” of “yes” |
| ui | /ɥi/ | nuit | the French u glided quickly into “ee” |
| eu | /ø/ · /œ/ | deux peur | deux: round your lips as for “oh” and say the “ay” of “day”; peur: the same with the mouth more open |
| œu | /œ/ · /ø/ | sœur vœux | said like eu |
| au | /o/ | aussi | like “oh”, with no glide |
| eau | /o/ | beau | like “oh”, with no glide |
| ai | /ɛ/ | lait | like the “e” of “bed” |
| ei | /ɛ/ | neige | like the “e” of “bed” |
| an | /ɑ̃/ | grand | “ah” through the nose, the n is not said |
| am | /ɑ̃/ | chambre | “ah” through the nose, the m is not said |
| en | /ɑ̃/ | enfant | “ah” through the nose, the n is not said |
| em | /ɑ̃/ | temps | “ah” through the nose, the m is not said |
| on | /ɔ̃/ | bon | “oh” through the nose, the n is not said |
| om | /ɔ̃/ | nom | “oh” through the nose, the m is not said |
| in | /ɛ̃/ | vin | close to the “a” of “cat” through the nose, the n is not said |
| im | /ɛ̃/ | simple | close to the “a” of “cat” through the nose, the m is not said |
| ain | /ɛ̃/ | pain | said like in |
| ein | /ɛ̃/ | plein | said like in |
| un | /œ̃/ | lundi | many speakers say it like in |
| ien | /jɛ̃/ | bien | the “y” of “yes” followed by in |
| oin | /wɛ̃/ | loin | “w” followed by in |
| ill | /ij/ · /il/ | fille ville | fille: like the “y” of “yes”; ville: [il], as in mille and tranquille |
| ail | /aj/ | travail | like “eye” |
| eil | /ɛj/ | soleil | the “e” of “bed” followed by the “y” of “yes” |
| ch | /ʃ/ · /k/ | chat orchestre | like “sh”; [k] in a few words of Greek origin such as orchestre |
| gn | /ɲ/ | montagne | like the “ny” of “canyon” |
| qu | /k/ | qui | [k]: the u is not said |
| gu | /ɡ/ | guitare | [ɡ]: the u is not said; it is written so that the g is said hard |
| ge | /ʒ/ | mangeons | [ʒ] before a or o: the e is not said; it is written so that the g is said soft |
| ph | /f/ | photo | |
| th | /t/ | thé | [t]: the h is not said, never as in “think” |
| ss | /s/ | aussi | always [s], even between two vowels |
Nasal vowels
A vowel followed by n or m is nasal when the n or m ends the word or is followed by another consonant: bon, enfant, simple. It is not nasal when the n or m is followed by a vowel or doubled: bonne, ami, année are said with an ordinary vowel and a heard n or m.
- bon / bonnegood (masculine / feminine)
- fin / fineend / thin (feminine)
- an / âneyear / donkey
Remember
Ai, ei, è and ê are all said like the “e” of “bed”; au, eau and ô are all said like “oh”. Different spellings of one sound are very common in French, so a word is learnt with its spelling.
Practise
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Accents and other written marks
French accents never mark stress. They are used to show how a vowel is said, or to tell apart two words that are otherwise spelt alike. French has no stress mark: in a group of words, the last syllable is said slightly longer, and the other syllables are said evenly.
| Spelling | Sounds | Examples | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| é | /e/ | café | like the “ay” of “day”, short and steady |
| è | /ɛ/ | mère | like the “e” of “bed” |
| ê | /ɛ/ | fête | like the “e” of “bed” |
| ë | /ɛ/ | Noël | the tréma: the e is said apart from the vowel before it |
| à | /a/ | là | said like a: là (“there”) is written with the accent, la (“the”) without |
| â | /a/ | gâteau | said like a |
| î | /i/ | île | said like i |
| ï | /i/ | maïs | the tréma: the i is said apart from the vowel before it |
| ô | /o/ | hôtel | like “oh”, with no glide |
| où | /u/ | où | “oo”: où (“where”) is written with the accent, ou (“or”) without |
| û | /y/ | sûr | said like u |
| ç | /s/ | garçon | [s] before a, o or u |
| œ | /œ/ | œil | like the eu of peur |
Common mistake
Il va a Paris.→ Il va à Paris.A without an accent is a form of avoir (“has”); à, with a grave accent, is the preposition (“to”, “at”). The two are said alike.
The apostrophe marks a vowel left out before another vowel or a mute h: le and la become l’ (l’ami, l’heure), and je, me, te, se, ne, de and que become j’, m’, t’, s’, n’, d’ and qu’. This is called elision; the two words are said as one: l’école [lekɔl].
Capitals are used less than in English. The names of languages, the days, the months and the adjectives of nationality take a small letter: le français, lundi, janvier, un livre anglais. A noun of nationality naming people takes a capital: les Anglais.
Punctuation differs in two points. A space is placed before ?, !, : and ;. Quotations are enclosed in guillemets, « like this ».
- Tu es français ?Are you French?
- Il habite en Angleterre depuis janvier.He has lived in England since January.
Practise
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Silent letters and liaison
A final consonant is usually not said: petit, les, grand, nez. A final e is not said either, but the consonant written before it is heard: petit [pəti], petite [pətit]. The ending -ent of the ils / elles form of a verb is silent: ils parlent sounds like il parle.
| Spelling | Sounds | Examples | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| -e | silent | table | silent, but the consonant before it is heard |
| -s | silent · /z/ | vous les‿amis | silent; [z] in liaison |
| -t | silent · /t/ | petit petit‿ami | silent; [t] in liaison |
| -x | silent · /z/ | deux deux‿ans | silent; [z] in liaison |
| -d | silent · /t/ | grand grand‿homme | silent; [t] in liaison |
| -z | silent | nez | silent: nez rhymes with né |
| -p | silent | beaucoup | silent |
| -ent | silent | parlent | silent in the ils / elles form of a verb; said [ɑ̃] in souvent or dent |
| -r | /ʁ/ · silent | mer aller | silent in the infinitive ending -er and in many words in -er such as premier; heard in mer, hiver, cher and in the other endings |
| -c | /k/ | avec | usually heard |
| -f | /f/ | chef | usually heard |
| -l | /l/ | sel | usually heard |
| h | silent | homme | never said; before a so-called aspirate h (le héros), there is no liaison and no elision |
The CaReFuL letters
Of the final consonants, c, r, f and l, the consonants of the English word careful, are the ones usually heard: avec, mer, chef, sel. The r of the infinitives in -er is the main exception. A few other words do not follow the rule: blanc, gentil.
Liaison is the linking of a final consonant, otherwise silent, to the vowel or mute h that begins the next word. In liaison, s and x are said [z] and d is said [t]. A liaison is always made between a determiner and its noun, between an adjective and the noun that follows it, between a pronoun and its verb, and after short words such as chez, dans and en. It is never made after et.
- les‿amisthe friends
- deux‿anstwo years
- petit‿amiboyfriend
- grand‿hommegreat man
- nous‿avonswe have
Common mistake
un homme et‿une femme→ un homme et une femmeNo liaison is made after et, which is always said [e].
Remember
A final consonant that is written is usually not said. Before a word beginning with a vowel, the same consonant may be heard in a liaison: les [le], les amis [lezami].