The French alphabet has 26 letters, just like English! However, the pronunciation is quite different. Let’s learn each letter with its French name and an example word. The 26 Letters Letter French Name Sounds Like Example Word A a a “ah” ami (friend) B b bé “bay” bonjour (hello) C c cé “say” café (coffee) … Read more
French uses 5 accent marks that change how letters are pronounced or distinguish between words. Learning these is essential for reading and writing French correctly! The 5 French Accents Accent Name (French) Name (English) Used On é accent aigu acute accent e only è, à, ù accent grave grave accent e, a, u ê, â, … Read more
In French, many letters are written but not pronounced. This is one of the trickiest parts of French pronunciation! Let’s learn the main patterns. 1. Silent Final Consonants Most consonants at the end of French words are silent. Silent Letter Examples Pronunciation -s paris, trois, français pa-REE, trwa, fran-SAY -t chat, petit, et sha, puh-TEE, … Read more
In French, certain letters combine to create new sounds. Learning these combinations is key to reading French correctly! 1. Vowel Combinations When vowels appear together, they often make a single sound: Combination Sound Examples ou “oo” (like “food”) vous (you), jour (day), toujours (always), beaucoup (a lot) au / eau “oh” au (to the), beau … Read more
La liaison is when you pronounce the final consonant of a word together with the vowel at the beginning of the next word. This makes French sound smooth and connected. How It Works In French, many words end with silent consonants. But when the next word starts with a vowel or silent “h”, that consonant … Read more
In French, elision occurs when certain short words lose their final vowel before a word beginning with a vowel or silent h. The dropped vowel is replaced by an apostrophe (‘). This is mandatory—not optional—and makes French sound smooth and natural. How It Works When words like je, le, la, de, ne, que, or se … Read more