The French alphabet consists of the same 26 letters as the English alphabet, but the pronunciation of these letters, as well as the sounds they represent, can be quite different. French also uses several accent marks that modify the pronunciation of vowels. French pronunciation is systematic and follows clear patterns, although it includes some sounds that do not exist in English.
The French Alphabet
The French alphabet is identical to the English alphabet in terms of the letters used. The letters are:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Each letter has a name in French, which is how you say the letter when spelling something out loud.
| Letter | French Name | English Equivalent Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| A | a | ah |
| B | bé | bay |
| C | cé | say |
| D | dé | day |
| E | e | uh (schwa) |
| F | effe | eff |
| G | gé | zhay |
| H | hache | ash |
| I | i | ee |
| J | ji | zhee |
| K | ka | kah |
| L | elle | el |
| M | emme | em |
| N | enne | en |
| O | o | oh |
| P | pé | pay |
| Q | qu | koo |
| R | erre | air (with French r) |
| S | esse | ess |
| T | té | tay |
| U | u | u (French u) |
| V | vé | vay |
| W | double vé | doo-bluh vay |
| X | iks | eeks |
| Y | i grec | ee grek |
| Z | zède | zed |
French Vowel Sounds
French has more vowel sounds than English, including nasal vowels. Here are the main vowel sounds with examples:
| French Phoneme | Example | English Approximation | French Example Sentence | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /a/ | a | father | la carte | the map |
| /e/ | é | say | café | coffee |
| /ɛ/ | è, ê | bed | père | father |
| /i/ | i | see | fini | finished |
| /o/ | o | go | eau | water |
| /ɔ/ | ô, au | off | porte | door |
| /u/ | ou | too | vous | you |
| /y/ | u | (no English equivalent) | lune | moon |
| /ə/ | e (schwa) | uh (unstressed) | le | the |
| /ɑ̃/ | an, am | (no exact English equivalent) | enfant | child |
| /ɛ̃/ | in, im | (no exact English equivalent) | vin | wine |
| /ɔ̃/ | on, om | (no exact English equivalent) | nom | name |
| /œ̃/ | un | (no exact English equivalent) | un | one |
Complete the sentence with the correct French vowel sound: La carte contient les inf _ _ _ mations. (insérer)
/ã/
The nasal vowel /ã/ appears in the prefix ‘in-’ when followed by 'f' (enfant, information).
Consonant Pronunciation
Most French consonants are similar to English, but some are pronounced differently:
| Consonant | French Example | Approximate English Sound | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | ca, ce, ci | k / s | ‘c’ = /k/ before a, o, u; /s/ before e, i, y |
| G | gare, génial | g / ʒ | ‘g’ = /g/ before a, o, u; /ʒ/ (as in ‘measure’) before e, i, y |
| H | hausse, hôtel | mute or aspirated | Usually silent; aspirated ‘h’ blocks liaison |
| J | jupe | ʒ | like ‘s’ in ‘measure’ |
| R | rue | ʁ | uvular fricative (throat sound) |
| S | sac, fraise | s / z | ‘s’ = /s/ normally; /z/ between vowels |
| T | tasse | t | always pronounced (never silent at the end) |
| W | wagon | v / w | usually /v/ in French words; /w/ in English loanwords |
| X | taxi, examen | ks / gz | usually /ks/; /gz/ in some cases |
| Z | zèbre | z | always pronounced |
Accent Marks and Their Effects
French uses four accent marks. They only appear on vowels (except the cedilla, which appears under ‘c’).
| Accent | Example | Effect on Pronunciation | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| é (accent aigu) | école | / e / as in ‘say’ | L’école est grande. (The school is big.) |
| è (accent grave) | père | / ɛ / as in ‘bed’ | Le père est là. (The father is there.) |
| ê (accent circonflexe) | forêt | / ɛ / or historical length | La forêt est verte. (The forest is green.) |
| ë, ï (tréma) | Noël, naïf | separate vowel sounds | Joyeux Noël ! (Happy Christmas!) |
| ç (cédille) | ça | / s / instead of /k/ | Ça va ? (How’s it going?) |
What effect do the tréma accents (ë, ï) have in French?
Separate vowel sounds in a word
Tréma accents signal that two vowels are pronounced separately (Noël, naïf).
Nasal Vowels
When a vowel is followed by an ’n’ or ’m’ (and the nasal consonant is not pronounced), the vowel becomes nasalized. The letters ‘n’ or ‘m’ are silent in this case.
| Nasal Vowel | Spelling Examples | Example Word | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| /ɑ̃/ | an, am, en, em | enfant | child |
| /ɛ̃/ | in, im, yn, ym | vin | wine |
| /ɔ̃/ | on, om | nom | name |
| /œ̃/ | un | un | one |
Note: Nasal vowels do not occur before double consonants (e.g., in in honnête is not nasal).
Common Pronunciation Rules
- Final consonants are usually silent, except for c, r, f, and l (in certain words).
- -ent at the end of verbs (like parlent) is silent.
- -e at the end of a word is usually silent but can make the preceding consonant pronounced (e.g., table /tabl/ vs. tab).
- ’s’ is silent at the end of most words but pronounced as /z/ in liaison (e.g., les amis /lez‿ami/).
- ’x’ and ’z’ are usually silent at the end of words.
- ’g’ and ’c’ have ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ sounds depending on the following vowel.
How is the ending -ent (as in parlent) pronounced in French verbs?
Silent (no sound)
The -ent ending in third-person plural verbs is silent in standard French (parlent /parl/).
Liaison and Elision
- Liaison: Pronouncing a normally silent final consonant because the next word begins with a vowel (vous avez /vu‿z ave/).
- Elision: Dropping a vowel and replacing it with an apostrophe before a vowel sound (je aime → j’aime).
Examples:
| Written Form | Spoken Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| vous avez | / vu‿z ave / | you have |
| les enfants | / lez ɑ̃fɑ̃ / | the children |
| c’est un | / s‿t œ̃ / | it is a ... |
French Stress and Intonation
- French stress is fixed on the last syllable of a word or phrase (often a word group).
- Stress is weaker and less variable than in English.
- Intonation tends to rise slightly at the end of yes/no questions and fall at the end of statements.
Summary
- The French alphabet has 26 letters, same as English, but letter names and pronunciations differ.
- French has 16 vowel sounds, including 4 nasal vowels, plus 20+ consonant phonemes.
- Accent marks change vowel quality or indicate pronunciation rules.
- Most final consonants are silent; liaison connects words smoothly.
- Stress falls predictably on the last syllable of a word or phrase.
With these rules and examples, you can understand and practice French pronunciation more confidently.
How many letters are in the French alphabet?
26
The French alphabet has 26 letters, the same as English.
Flashcards (1 of 53)
- Letter: A
- English Equivalent Pronunciation: ah
Last updated: Wed Jun 18, 2025
