The French alphabet counts 26 letters, from a to z. You can recite them in order, recognize them in writing and write them without hesitation. The letters are used to form words like ami, maison or Paris. To hear their form, you can also compare them with the sounds seen in Sons et Phonétique. Some letters change depending on their position in the word, but their name stays the same when spoken one by one: a, bé, cé, dé, e, eff, gé, ache, i, ji, ka, elle, emme, enne, o, pé, cu, erre, esse, té, u, vé, double vé, ix, i grec, zède.

Name of the letters in the French alphabet

Word	Notation	Description	Example
a	a	The letter a is said with an open and clear vowel, and it sounds like in almond.	Dans chat, le a est bien ouvert.In chat, the a is well open.
b	be	The letter b is named with a soft consonant, and the final sound stays short.	Je dis be pour la lettre b.I say be for the letter b.
c	se	The letter c is pronounced with a light s in its name, and it is not spoken like the word carré.	Je cherche la lettre se dans l alphabet.I search for the letter se in the alphabet.
h	aʃ	The letter h is said with a sound close to ache, and the French h remains mute in words.	Je prononce aʃ pour la lettre h.I pronounce aʃ for the letter h.
j	ʒi	The letter j is named with the sound of joli, and the beginning is soft as in garden.	Dans l alphabet, j se dit ʒi.In the alphabet, j is pronounced ʒi.
x	iks	The letter x is named with three short sounds, and it ends with a clear s.	Je termine avec iks pour la lettre x.I end with iks for the letter x.

In speech, several letters look or sound very similar. b and d have different names, but their names start with a close-sounding initial, which can be confusing. m, n and r are distinguished mainly by the final sound. g and j are often confused when listened to quickly. To remember them well, you must say the entire letter and not just the initial sound. In a name like Benoît or Gérard, each letter should be heard clearly. Listening errors often come from fast pronunciation or poor syllable separation, so a calm pace helps a lot. The distinctions of Accents et Accentuation and the silent letters seen in Lettres muettes can also influence what we think we hear.

Letters often confused when listening

Word	Notation	Description	Example
b d	be de	The letters b and d have very similar names, but the first sound changes at the start.	Je confonds parfois be et de dans une dictée.I sometimes confuse be and de in a dictation.
m n	ɛm ɛn	The letters m and n both start with a nasal vowel, and their endings help distinguish them.	Je dis ɛm puis ɛn sans hésiter.I say ɛm then ɛn without hesitation.
f s	ɛf ɛs	The letters f and s end with a whistling sound, and the vowel at the start is not the same.	Je répète ɛf puis ɛs très clairement.I repeat ɛf then ɛs very clearly.
g j	ʒe ʒi	The letters g and j both start with a soft sound, and the final vowel changes the name.	Je distingue ʒe de ʒi à l oral.I distinguish ʒe from ʒi in speech.
u y	y i grec	The letter u and the letter y are easy to confuse, and the first is called y in French.	Je dis y pour la lettre y.I say y for the letter y.
v w	ve double ve	The letters v and w look alike in writing, and the w has a longer name.	Je prononce ve puis double ve lentement.I pronounce ve then double ve slowly.

Accents change the writing and often the pronunciation of a word. é is pronounced with a closed sound, as in café or étudiant. è and ê open the vowel more, as in mère and forêt. à keeps the sound of a, but the accent distinguishes it in writing, as in à Paris. ç gives the sound s before a, o or u, as in garçon and leçon. When a word contains an accent, it must be copied exactly, as it is part of the spelling. Accents also help recognize certain similar words, especially in proper names and common nouns explained in Noms Communs and Noms propres.

Usage of accents and the cedilla

Idea
L accent aigu in é often indicates a closed and clear sound.
L accent grave in è opens the vowel and gives a wider sound.
L accent circonflexe in ê often shows a more marked vowel.
The letter à keeps the sound of a and is often used to distinguish words.
The cedilla in ç forces the s sound before a or o.

To give your identity, you first say your first name, then your last name, and you can spell each letter if necessary. In conversation, you might say, for example: Je m’appelle Léa Martin. L for elle, é with acute accent, a, space, M as Marie, a, r, t, i, n. In a form, spelling helps avoid confusion between similar letters like m and n or b and d. You must pronounce each letter in the exact order, without adding any unnecessary word. When a letter carries an accent, you name it too. For names, clarity matters as much as speed, especially with Noms propres.

épelernom de familleformulaireorthographeclairementprénomlettrenom

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Le premier nom d une personne utilisé au quotidienD une manière facile à comprendre pour la personne qui écouteLe mot qui identifie la famille d une personneLa manière correcte d écrire un mot ou un nomUn document à remplir avec des informations précisesDire les lettres une par une pour éviter une erreurLe nom partagé par la famille et écrit sur les documentsUne unité de l alphabet qui sert à écrire les mots

Useful words for spelling a name

Word	Definition
épeler	Saying the letters one by one to avoid a mistake.
prénom	The first name of a person used daily.
nom	The word that identifies the family of a person.
lettre	A unit of the alphabet that is used to write words.
nom de famille	The name shared by the family and written on documents.
orthographe	The correct way to write a word or a name.
formulaire	A document to fill in with precise information.
clairement	In a way that is easy to understand for the person listening.

Scramble

The alphabet is used to write a city name, a street, an email address or a case number without mistakes. For a city like Lyon or Marseille, you must check each letter, especially at the beginning and end of the word. In an address, capitals help to identify important elements, like Rue Victor Hugo or Paris. When a word contains a silent letter or an accent, it is written as it appears in official documents. Comparison words like plus grand or plus petit are also written carefully in forms, as seen in Comparaisons.

Correct writing of names and addresses

Idea
For a proper name, keep the capital at the start of the word.
For an address, write the information in a stable and easy-to-read order.
For a city name, always check the exact spelling before writing it.
To avoid an error, you can spell difficult words letter by letter.
For an email address or a code, speak each character very clearly.

To ask someone to write a word letter by letter, you simply say: Vous pouvez épeler, s’il vous plaît ? or Comment ça s’écrit ? With a proper name, the phrasing remains short: Pouvez-vous épeler votre nom ? In a polite exchange, you use you with a stranger, an employee or on a phone form. The question is often followed by information that is difficult to hear, such as a family name, a city or an address. After the request, the answer gives the letters in order, with the accents if necessary: C, H, A, R, P, E, N, T, I, E, R.

lettre par lettreplus lentementrépétez s il vous plaîtvous pouvez épelerje n ai pas compriscomment ça s écrit

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Demande pour parler avec moins de vitesseExpression qui demande une lecture détaillée de chaque lettrePhrase utile pour demander une répétition plus claireDemande courtoise pour entendre encore une foisQuestion simple pour demander l orthographe d un motFormule polie pour demander les lettres d un mot

Phrases for requesting a spelling

Word	Definition
vous pouvez épeler	Polite phrase to ask for the letters of a word.
comment ça s écrit	Simple question to ask for the spelling of a word.
lettre par lettre	Expression that requests a detailed reading of each letter.
je n ai pas compris	Useful phrase to ask for a clearer repetition.
répétez s il vous plaît	Polite request to hear again one more time.
plus lentement	Request to speak at a slower pace.

Scramble