Bienvenue! Welcome to your first step in learning French. This chapter covers the French alphabet, accents, and basic sounds.
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to: recognize and pronounce each letter of the French alphabet, understand the importance of accents, and pronounce simple French words correctly.
"Bonjour futur francophone! Learning to pronounce French correctly is key to being understood. French sounds beautiful, but it has some unique rules compared to English. Don't worry about sounding perfect right away; just focus on getting familiar with the new sounds, like the French 'R' and the nasal vowels."
The French alphabet has the same 26 letters as English. However, they are pronounced differently!
| Letter (Lettre) | Name (Nom) | Approximate Pronunciation Description | Example Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a | Like 'a' in "father" | l'amour (love) |
| B b | bé | Like 'b' in "ball". | le bébé (baby) |
| C c | cé | Before e, i, y: Like 's' in "sun". Before a, o, u: Like 'k' in "cat". |
le café (coffee) le cinéma (cinema) |
| D d | dé | Like 'd' in "dog". | la date (date) |
| E e | euh | Roughly like 'u' in "fur" (without the 'r'). This vowel changes a lot with accents! | le (the) |
| F f | effe | Like 'f' in "fan" | la fleur (flower) |
| G g | gé | Before e, i, y: Like 's' in "measure" (soft 'zh' sound). Before a, o, u: Like 'g' in "go". |
le garçon (boy) la girafe (giraffe) |
| H h | hache | Silent! Never pronounced. (Grammatically it can be 'aspirated' or 'mute', but the sound is always silent). | l'homme (man) |
| I i | i | Like 'ee' in "see" | l'île (island) |
| J j | ji | Like 's' in "measure" (soft 'zh' sound). | le jour (day) |
| K k | ka | Like 'k' in "kite". Mostly in foreign words. | le kangourou |
| L l | elle | Like 'l' in "lamp" | le livre (book) |
| M m | emme | Like 'm' in "man" | la mère (mother) |
| N n | enne | Like 'n' in "no" | la nuit (night) |
| O o | o | Like 'o' in "no" (closed) or 'o' in "love" (open). | l'orange (orange) |
| P p | pé | Like 'p' in "pen" (less aspirated than English) | le père (father) |
| Q q | ku | Like 'k' in "key". Almost always followed by 'u' (silent). | quatre (four) |
| R r | erre | Guttural sound made in the back of the throat. Like clearing your throat gently. |
rouge (red) Paris |
| S s | esse | Like 's' in "sun" (at start of words or 'ss'). Like 'z' in "zebra" (between two vowels). |
le soleil (sun) la maison (house - 'z' sound) |
| T t | té | Like 't' in "top" | le train (train) |
| U u | u | A tight 'oo' sound NOT in English. Say "ee" with your lips rounded like you are whistling. |
la tuile (tile) unique |
| V v | vé | Like 'v' in "van". | le vélo (bike) |
| W w | double vé | Usually like 'v' in foreign words (wagon), sometimes 'w' (weekend). | le wagon (train car) |
| X x | iks | Like 'ks' in "taxi" or 'gz' in "example". Silent at the end of many words. |
le xylophone deux (two - silent x) |
| Y y | i grec | Like 'ee' in "see". | les yeux (eyes) |
| Z z | zède | Like 'z' in "zebra". | le zoo |
Accents are not just decoration in French; they are crucial! They can change the pronunciation of a letter and even the meaning of a word. Here is a breakdown:
| Accent | Symbol | Effect & Examples |
|---|---|---|
| L'accent aigu (Acute Accent) |
é |
Only on 'e'. It changes the sound to a closed "ay" sound (like in "play", but short and without the glide).
Examples: l'été (the summer) l'école (the school) le café (the coffee) |
| L'accent grave (Grave Accent) |
è, à, ù |
On 'e': Opens the sound to "eh" (like in "bet" or "jet"). Examples: très (very), le père (the father). On 'a' or 'u': Doesn't usually change pronunciation, but distinguishes meaning. Examples: à (to/at) vs a (has); où (where) vs ou (or). |
| L'accent circonflexe (Circumflex) |
ê, ô, â, î, û |
Can appear on any vowel. It often indicates that an 's' used to follow the vowel in Old French (e.g., forêt used to be forest). It can lengthen the vowel sound slightly or open it. Examples: la forêt (the forest) l'hôtel (the hotel) être (to be) |
| La cédille (Cedilla) |
ç |
Only on 'c'. It softens the hard 'c' (k sound) to a soft 's' sound when occurring before 'a', 'o', or 'u'. Examples: le français (French language) le garçon (the boy) ça (that) |
| Le tréma (Diaeresis) |
ï, ë |
Indicates that two vowels next to each other should be pronounced separately, not as a combination. Examples: naïve (naïve - pronounce 'na-eev') Noël (Christmas - pronounce 'No-el') |
Ready to test your knowledge of the alphabet sounds?
Import the Alphabet Flashcards(Requires login to import/study)
This pronunciation feature uses the text-to-speech capabilities built into your web browser and operating system. The quality, accent, and availability of voices can vary greatly depending on your setup.
If you are not hearing the audio or it sounds incorrect, here are some common things to check: