French Letters Pronunciation: Alphabet Chart + Tips

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French Alphabet Pronunciation Chart

Letter	Pronunciation in a Word	Sample Word	Translation
A	Like ‘a’ in “father”	avion	plane
B	Like ‘b’ in “baby”	bateau	boat
C	Soft ‘s’ before ‘e’/’i’, hard ‘k’ before ‘a’/’o’	cerise, café	cherry, coffee
D	Like ‘d’ in “day”	dauphin	dolphin
E	Like ‘uh’ in “sofa” or ‘ay’ in “café”	éléphant	elephant
F	Like ‘f’ in “fun”	fleur	flower
G	Soft ‘zh’ before ‘e’/’i’, hard ‘g’ before ‘a’/’o’	genou, gâteau	knee, cake
H	Silent in French	hibou	owl
I	Like ‘ee’ in “see”	igloo	igloo
J	Like ‘zh’ in “measure”	jus	juice
K	Like ‘k’ in “kite”	kangourou	kangaroo
L	Like ‘l’ in “love”	lapin	rabbit
M	Like ‘m’ in “mother”	maison	house
N	Like ‘n’ in “nice”	nid	nest
O	Like ‘o’ in “more”	orange	orange
P	Like ‘p’ in “piano”	pomme	apple
Q	Like ‘k’ in “queen”	quatre	four
R	Throaty sound, like a soft gargle	raisin	grape
S	Like ‘s’ in “snake”	souris	mouse
T	Like ‘t’ in “table”	tortue	turtle
U	Like ‘ee’ with rounded lips	uniforme	uniform
V	Like ‘v’ in “van”	vache	cow
W	Usually like ‘v’ in “van”	wagon	wagon
X	Like ‘ks’ in “box” or ‘z’ in “xylophone”	xylophone	xylophone
Y	Like ‘ee’ in “happy”	yoyo	yoyo
Z	Like ‘z’ in “zebra”	zèbre	zebra

Key Pronunciation Tips

C and G Change Sounds:

• C sounds like ‘s’ before ‘e’ or ‘i’ (e.g., cerise – “suh-rees”) but ‘k’ before ‘a’ or ‘o’ (café – “kah-fay”).
• G is soft like ‘zh’ before ‘e’ or ‘i’ (genou – “zhuh-noo”) but hard like ‘g’ in “go” before ‘a’ or ‘o’ (gâteau – “gah-toe”).

H is Always Silent:

• Unlike English, the letter H is never pronounced in French (hôtel sounds like “otel”).

R is Unique in French:

• R is pronounced with a soft gargling sound at the back of the throat (rouge – “rroozh”).

U Requires Lip Rounding:

• The French U sound is unlike English and is made by saying ‘ee’ with rounded lips (lune – “lyoon”).

What Are the Main Special Letters in French?

French includes unique characters that affect pronunciation and meaning:

Œ (e dans l’o): This ligature combines ‘o’ and ‘e’ into ‘œ’. It sounds like the ‘e’ in “her” (IPA: /œ/).

• cœur (heart) – pronounced “kuhr”
• sœur (sister) – pronounced “suhr”

Ç (cédille): The cedilla (¸) under ‘c’ changes its hard ‘k’ sound into a soft ‘s’ when followed by ‘a’, ‘o’, or ‘u’.

• garçon (boy) – pronounced “gar-son”
• français (French) – pronounced “fran-say”

How Do You Pronounce the Accents in French?

French accents aren’t just decorative; they change how letters are pronounced and sometimes shift a word’s meaning:

L’accent aigu (é): Makes ‘e’ sound like ‘ay’ in “say.”

• café (coffee) – pronounced “ka-fay”

L’accent grave (è, à, ù): Gives ‘e’ a short ‘eh’ sound, like ‘e’ in “bet.” On ‘a’ and ‘u’, it only changes meaning, not pronunciation.

• mère (mother) – pronounced “mehr”
• où (where) vs. ou (or) – both pronounced “oo”

L’accent circonflexe (â, ê, î, ô, û): Often signals a missing historical ‘s’ and may slightly lengthen the vowel.

• forêt (forest) – pronounced “foh-reh”

Le tréma (ë, ï, ü): Means vowels should be pronounced separately, not blended together.

• Noël (Christmas) – pronounced “no-el”
• naïve (naive) – pronounced “na-eve”

What Silent Letters Are There in French?

Silent letters are common in French, especially at the ends of words:

• Final Consonants: Many final consonants are silent.
  • petit (small) – pronounced “puh-tee”
  • vous (you) – pronounced “voo” 
• H Muet (Silent ‘h’): Unlike in English, ‘h’ is always silent at the beginning of words.
  • heure (hour) – pronounced “eur” 
• E Muet (Silent ‘e’): The letter ‘e’ at the end of words is often dropped in casual speech.
  • femme (woman) – pronounced “fam”

Master French Letters Pronunciation: Learn with a Native Teacher!

Learning the French pronunciation of letters takes practice, and nothing beats the guidance of a native speaker. With the right support, you’ll gain confidence in speaking naturally and understanding the nuances of pronunciation, including tricky silent letters and accents.

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