The big picture
French spelling looks scary, but it is far more regular than English. Once you know a few dozen patterns, you can pronounce almost any word you read. Four ideas explain most of what's going on:
Syllables are even
English stresses some syllables and swallows others. French gives every syllable roughly the same weight, with a slight lift on the last syllable of a phrase.
ba-na-ne · res-tau-rant
Final consonants are usually silent
Most consonants at the end of a word aren't spoken — unless the next word starts with a vowel sound.
petit · trois · ils parlent
Words flow together
In speech, French joins words into one continuous stream. Liaison, enchaînement and elision are the three ways it does this.
les amis · une amie · l'école
Vowels are pure and tense
French vowels don't glide like English “oh-oo” in go. Hold your mouth still and keep each vowel clean.
beau · thé · lit
Oral vowels
French has around a dozen vowel sounds, and several are written with combinations of letters. Here are the ones beginners meet first.
| Spelling | Sound | Sounds a bit like… | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| a, à | [a] | the “a” in father, but shorter | chat là |
| é, -er, -ez | [e] | “ay” in day, with no glide | café parler nez |
| è, ê, ai | [ɛ] | “e” in bed | mère fête lait |
| i, y | [i] | “ee” in see, very tense | midi stylo |
| o, ô, au, eau | [o] | “o” in go, but no “w” glide | beau chaud hôtel |
| ou | [u] | “oo” in food | vous rouge |
| u | [y] | no English match: say “ee”, then round your lips | tu rue salut |
| eu, œu | [ø] / [œ] | say “ay”, then round your lips | deux peur sœur |
| oi | [wa] | “wa” in water | moi trois |
Nasal vowels
When a vowel is followed by n or m in the same syllable, the air goes through your nose and the n/m itself is not pronounced. Don't touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth.
[ɑ̃]
an, am, en, em
enfant chambre temps
[ɔ̃]
on, om
bon nom maison
[ɛ̃]
in, im, ain, ein, un
vin pain plein un
Tricky consonants
| Spelling | Sound | How to say it | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| r | [ʁ] | at the back of the throat, like a soft gargle | rouge Paris |
| j, ge, gi | [ʒ] | the “s” in measure | je rouge girafe |
| ch | [ʃ] | “sh” in shoe | chat chercher |
| gn | [ɲ] | “ny” in canyon | montagne champagne |
| ill (after a vowel) | [j] | “y” in yes | fille travailler |
| ç, ce, ci | [s] | a soft “s” | ça merci garçon |
| s between vowels | [z] | a “z” sound | maison rose |
| th | [t] | just “t”, never English “th” | thé théâtre |
| qu | [k] | just “k”, no “w” | qui quatre |
Silent letters
Final consonants
Usually silent: d, g, p, s, t, x, z.
grand long trop gris chat prix chez
Final -e
An unaccented final e is silent, but it makes the consonant before it heard.
petit → petite, vert → verte
The letter h
Always silent. But some words start with an h aspiré that blocks liaison and elision (see below).
l'homme · le héros
Verb ending -ent
In the 3rd person plural of verbs, -ent is completely silent.
ils parlent = il parle
The disappearing “e”
The plain e (no accent), called e muet or e caduc, is a soft “uh” sound [ə] — and in everyday speech it often drops out completely.
- samedi → “sam-di”
- je ne sais pas → “j'n'sais pas”
- maintenant → “maint'nant”
- petit → “p'tit”
Liaison
A liaison happens when a normally silent final consonant is pronounced because the next word begins with a vowel sound. The consonant moves forward and starts the next syllable: les amis sounds like “lé-za-mi”.
Liaison sounds change
| Written | Heard as | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| s, x, z | [z] | les enfants deux ans chez elle |
| t, d | [t] | petit ami grand homme |
| n | [n] | un ami on a mon école |
| f (in neuf) | [v] | neuf heures neuf ans |
Required
- Article/determiner + noun: les amis, un enfant, mes oncles
- Adjective before a noun: petit enfant, bons amis
- Pronoun + verb: nous avons, ils ont, vous êtes
- Verb + pronoun: allez-y, prend-il
- After short prepositions/adverbs: chez eux, très utile, dans un an
- Fixed expressions: tout à coup, de temps en temps, les États-Unis
Forbidden
- After et (and): un garçon et une fille
- Before an h aspiré: les héros, en haut
- After a singular noun: un étudiant intelligent
- After inverted subject pronouns: ont-ils eu
- Before onze and oui: les onze joueurs, mais oui
Optional
- After forms of être: c'est important
- After plural nouns: des amis anglais
- After pas, mais: pas encore
Optional liaisons sound more formal. In casual speech, people often skip them.
Enchaînement
Enchaînement is similar to liaison, but the consonant at the end of the word is always pronounced. It simply slides onto the next vowel, so the two words sound like one.
- une amie → “u-na-mie”
- il a → “i-la”
- avec elle → “a-vè-kelle”
- quatre enfants → “qua-tren-fants”
Elision
With elision, a short word drops its final vowel before another vowel sound and is replaced by an apostrophe. Unlike liaison, elision is written and is never optional.
- le ami → l'ami
- je aime → j'aime
- ne est pas → n'est pas
- si il → s'il
Words that elide: le, la, je, me, te, se, ne, de, que, ce, and si (only before il/ils).
Practice
Is there a liaison? Decide, then check your answer. Tap the phrase to hear it.