Study the ABCs of the French Alphabet To Pronounce Phrases Extra Confidently
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For those who’re simply beginning on the trail to study French, one of many first issues it’s possible you’ll need to memorize is the French alphabet (alphabet) chart. The alphabet within the French language isn’t in contrast to English at first look, however understanding a bit extra in regards to the pronunciation (pronunciation) of every letter and the way it differs from English may also help you to pronounce French phrases with confidence.
What letters are within the French alphabet?
There are 26 lettres (letters) within the alphabet within the French language. They’re the identical 26 letters as English and are even in the identical order. That is nice information, as you’ll simply acknowledge them. The truth is, many phrases in French are mots apparentés (cognates), which means they give the impression of being rather a lot like English phrases and likewise imply the identical factor. Because you’ll simply determine phrases like live performance, lion, aventure, and banane, you’ve already acquired a head begin on understanding and talking French!
There are additionally a number of accents (accent or diacritical marks) in French. You’ll discover them over vowels and within the letter ç. These accents can generally change the pronunciation of the letters in le français (French).
Announcing the French alphabet
You’ll must study French alphabet pronunciation as you evaluate every of the French letters of the alphabet so you possibly can écrire (write) and épeler (spell out) new phrases accurately.
You possibly can ask a French speaker to spell a brand new phrase out loud that will help you know it throughout a dialog. Then, repeat it a number of instances that will help you learn and converse French with confidence.
- Remark écrivez-vous ce mot? = How do you spell (write) this phrase?
- Pouvez-vous m’épeler votre nom? = Are you able to spell out your title for me?
This French alphabet pronunciation chart reveals how every of the letters is sounded out in French. For example, we educate “a” as in “say” however in French it’s “a” as in “ah.”
| French Letter | French Pronunciation | English Pronunciation |
| a | a | ah |
| b | bé | bay |
| c | cé | say |
| d | dé | day |
| e | œ | euh |
| f | effe | eff |
| g | gé | zjay |
| h | ache | ahsh |
| i | i | ee |
| j | ji | zjee |
| ok | ka | kah |
| l | elle | ell |
| m | emme | em |
| n | enne | en |
| o | o | oh |
| p | pé | pay |
| q | ku | koo |
| r | erre | air |
| s | esse | ess |
| t | té | tay |
| u | ü | euoo |
| v | vé | vay |
| w | double vé | doo-bleuh-vay |
| x | ixe | eeks |
| y | igrec | ee-grehk |
| z | zed | zed |
The trickiest letters within the French alphabet
The French alphabet pronunciation chart is only the start. English audio system might want to pay shut consideration to those difficult letters within the alphabet within the French language to keep away from confusion.
Letters “e” and “i”
In French the letter “e” is pronounced “euh.” To approximate this sound, attempt saying the phrase “her” very slowly, however stopping your self earlier than you begin to shut your mouth to pronounce the “r.”
The letter “i” is pronounced “ee.” Understanding the French alphabet so as may also help, because you’ll say “ahsh, ee, zjee, kah” (h, i, j, ok) in sequence.
Letters “g” and “j”
Each “g” and “j” have a softer “j” sound to them. This “j” sound is pronounced just like the “s” in “Asia” or “treasure.” However the final a part of the sound is completely different.
They are often difficult as a result of “g” is “zjay” and “j” is “zjee.” Memorizing the sequence “euh, eff, zjay” for “e, f, g” may also help you keep in mind which is which.
The French “u” sound
English doesn’t have this sound, so it takes some observe to study. Strive holding out the sound “eeee.” With out altering the sound of the vowel, spherical your lips into the form of “oooo.” You’ll hear this sound in lots of French phrases resembling:
- tu = you
- du = of the
- la rue = the road
- salut = hello
- J’ai lu le livre. = I learn the e-book. (previous tense)
- J’ai vu le movie. = I noticed the film.
Typically when mixed with different letters, “u” has a distinct sound, like in jeune (younger), the place “eu” appears like “euh,” or in jaune (yellow) the place “au” appears like “oh.”
>>Mastered the French alphabet? Study French numbers subsequent!
Widespread French accent marks
Along with the alphabet characters, French accent marks, also called diacritical marks, are a part of how French phrases are spelled. The Académie Française decides when alternate spellings, resembling omitting the circonflexe (^), are formally accepted.
| French Accent Mark | Title |
| é | l’accent aigu (acute accent) |
| è | l’accent grave (grave accent) |
| ê | le circonflexe (circumflex) |
| ë | le tréma (diaeresis) referred to as “umlaut” in German |
| ç | la cédille (cedilla) |
You possibly can enhance your French pronunciation by being aware of how completely different sounds are shaped and the way accents have an effect on the pronunciation of letters.
French pronunciation information utilizing the alphabet and accent marks
You can begin to grasp French pronunciation utilizing the alphabet, however French isn’t pronounced phonetically. It has many phonemes or combos of letters that type sons (sounds). Some combos of letters and accent marks will change the pronunciation of a letter inside a phrase. Because of French grammar guidelines, the spelling of a phrase and the pronunciation will change.
The charts beneath present a really simplified illustration of French sounds. Precise pronunciation varies vastly, as a result of there are various French dialects world wide, every with their very own distinctive accents!
Les voyelles (the vowels)
French comprises over a dozen completely different vowel sounds together with nasal vowels past simply “ah” “eh” “ee” “oh” and the distinct French “u.”
| French Vowels | Pronunciation | Instance |
| a | “ah” | la banane (the banana) |
| à | “ah” | voilà (there may be) |
| â | “ah” | le château (the fort) |
| ai | “ai”“eh” | mai (Might)la douzaine (the dozen) |
| purpose | nasal “ein” | la faim (starvation) |
| au | “oh” | chaud (scorching) |
| e (in the midst of a syllable) | “ay” | merci (thanks) |
| e (on the finish of a syllable) | “euh” | ce (this) |
| e (on the finish of a phrase) | silent | encore (once more) |
| é | “ay” | l’étoile (the star) |
| è | “ay” | la mère (the mom) |
| ê | between “eh” and “ay” | la baguette (the baguette) |
| eau | “oh” | le bateau (the boat) |
| em/en/an | nasal “ehn” | le temps (he climate) |
| eu | “euh” | heureux (pleased) |
| i | “ee” | l’idée (the thought) |
| in | nasal “ein” | le cousin (the cousin) |
| o | between “oh” and “uh” | la pomme (the apple) |
| ô | “oh” | l’hôpital (the hospital) |
| œu | “euh” | la sœur (the sister) |
| oi | “wah” | la loi (the regulation) |
| om | nasal “ohn” | le prénom (the primary title) |
| on | nasal “ohn” | le bonbon (the sweet) |
| ou | “oo” | nouvelle (new) |
| u | French “u” (doesn’t exist in English) | vu (seen) |
| un | nasal “uhn” | brun (brown) |
Les consonnes (the consonants)
Typically, consonants should not pronounced on the finish of a French phrase aside from “c,” “r,” “f,” and “l.” Different exceptions could be mortgage phrases from one other language and infinitive verbs ending in “-er” which is pronounced “ay” as in manger (to eat).
| French Consonant | Sound | Instance |
| b | “b” | bonjour (howdy) |
| c | “ok” | la cravate (the necktie) |
| c (earlier than e or i) | “s” | cent (hundred) |
| ç | “s” | le français (French) |
| ch | “sh” | le chocolat (the chocolate) |
| d | “d” | devant (in entrance of) |
| f | “f” | la fille (the woman) |
| g | onerous “g” | regarder (to have a look at) |
| g (earlier than e or i) | “zj” just like the “s” in “treasure” | la giraffe (the giraffe) |
| h | silent | l’hôtel (the lodge) |
| j | “zj” just like the “s” in “treasure” | toujours (all the time) |
| ok | “ok” | le ski (ski) |
| l | “l” | plus (extra |
| ll | “l” | belle (lovely) |
| ll (following a vowel + i) | “y” | la feuille (leaf) |
| m | “m” | comme (like, as) |
| n | “n”besides in nasal vowel sounds | donner (to offer) |
| p | “p” | peut-être (perhaps) |
| ph | “f” | le téléphone (the phone) |
| qu | “ok” | quelque (some) |
| r | French “r” (from again of throat) | rien (nothing) |
| s (at starting of phrase) | “s” | seule (lonely, alone) |
| s (between vowels) | “z” | le besoin (the necessity) |
| ss | “s” | laisser (to go away) |
| t | “t” | trouver (to search out) |
| th | “t” | la bibliothèque (library) |
| v | “v” | vivre (to reside) |
| w | “w” | le weekend (weekend) |
| x | “z” | le xylophone (xylophone) |
| y | “y” | le yaourt (yogurt) |
| z | “z” | quinze (fifteen) |
Impact of accent marks on pronunciation in French
French accent marks aren’t merely ornamental. Whereas they don’t display careworn syllables like in Spanish, they’re thought-about a part of the spelling of the phrase and might change its which means or pronunciation. For instance, ou means “or” however with an accent où means “the place.”
| French Accent Mark | Title | Pronunciation Change |
| é | accent aigu (acute accent) | pronounced “ay” |
| è | accent grave (grave accent) | pronounced “eh” |
| ê | circonflexe (circumflex) | often none; signifies a historic spelling or pronunciation change |
| oë | tréma (diaeresis) referred to as “umlaut” in German | signifies you need to pronounce each vowels independently, as in naïve or Noël. |
| ç | cédille (cedilla) | pronounce the ç like “s” |
Widespread French initialisms
Understanding your French alphabet and the way to pronounce every letter may also help you perceive and pronounce les sigles (initialisms), that are abbreviations shaped from the letters in a phrase. Every letter is pronounced individually, they usually’re virtually all the time written as majuscule (uppercase).
| French Initialism | French Phrase | English That means |
| AOC | appellation d’origine contrôlée | the standard management of sure French merchandise resembling wine and cheese |
| ADN | acide désoxyribonucléique (DNA) | DNA |
| BD | bande dessinée | comedian e-book |
| le franc CFA | le franc Communauté financière africaine | shared forex of some African nations |
| CP | cours préparatoire | equal of first grade in US colleges |
| OGM | organisme génétiquement modifié | genetically modified organism (GMO) |
| ONG | organisation non gouvernementale | non-governmental group (NGO) |
| SNCF | Société nationale des chemins de fer | French nationwide practice system |
| TGV | practice à grande vitesse | high-speed practice |
| VTT | vélo/véhicule tout terrain | all-terrain bike or automobile |
Because the following abbreviations are acronymes (acronyms), they’re pronounced like every other phrase in French. You wouldn’t spell every letter when saying them.
- l’ONU: l’Organisation des Nations Unies = the UN: the United Nations
- un OVNI: un objet volant non identifié = a UFO: an alien ship
>>Study to make use of widespread French nouns of every kind to specific individuals, locations, issues, and concepts.
One of the best methods to enhance your pronunciation
You’re off to a superb begin if you perceive the alphabet within the French language and the way it’s pronounced. These lettres (letters) mix to type sons (sounds), mots (phrases), expressions (phrases) and phrases (sentences).
To proceed to enhance your French pronunciation attempt:
- listening to French music and singing alongside
- listening to French tales whereas studying alongside
- watching French tv and films
- utilizing pronunciation guides just like the Worldwide Phonetic Alphabet
- talking with French tutors from world wide
- attending reside classes to study French from a local speaker
Rosetta Stone provides tutoring, reside classes, and an all-in-one app with Tales and a phrasebook. Benefit from the quick suggestions in our TruAccent speech recognition engine that helps enhance your accent inside each lesson and at each stage.
