Language/French/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

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Bonjour, French learners 😎!

In today's lesson, we are going to learn how to read, write, and pronounce each letter of the alphabet in French. The French alphabet is known as the Roman Alphabet and has 26 letters.

Learning pronunciations is essential to pronounce words and to learn how to spell. As you progress in your French language journey, you might also be interested in exploring topics like how to pronounce the French "R", understanding the different regional accents in France, and mastering the various advanced-level accents in the French language.

Happy learning!


French Alphabet & Pronunciation[edit | edit source]

Alphabet Sounds Prononciation examples for English speakers Example Pronunciation

(sound file)

A /ɑ/ a like in "Arm" Avion
B /be/ b like in "Best" Bateau
C /se/
  • S like in "Sad" before i,e,y
  • or k like in "crocodile" elsewhere
  • or SH in "she" before h
  • Ceci
  • Camion
  • Chat
Ç /se/ S like in "Stop" Français
D /de/
  • d like in "Do"

The letter "d" is pronounced "t" at the end of the word in French:

  • For example: "un grand éléphant" (a large elephant) is pronounced "un grand(t) éléphant".
  • Other example: "Quand il y a" (when there is) is pronunced "Quand(t) il y a"
  • Dormir
  • Un grand éléphant
  • Quand il y a
E /ø/ e like in "Elephant" Voiture
F /ɛf/ f like in "Fire" Feu
G /ʒe/
  • g like in "Gym" before i,e,y
  • or g like "golf" elsewhere
  • Nuage
  • Garage
H /aʃ/ Silent Hibou
I /i/ i like in "leave" but shorter sound Vivre
J /ʒi/ j like "Jim" Je
K /ka/ k like in "Ko" Kiwi
L /ɛl/ l like in "Lion" Lion
M /ɛm/ m like in "Men" Manger
N /ɛn/ n like in "New" Nager
O /o/
  • o like in "Open"
  • o like in "Do you know?"
  • Olive
  • Ouvrir
P /pe/ p like in "Pay" Partir
Q /ky/ q like in "Quit" Qui es-tu?
R /ɛʁ/ r like in "rome" Renard
S /ɛs/
  • s like in "See"
  • or z like in "dose" after a,e,i,o,u and before e,i
  • Sortir
  • Valise
T /te/ t like in "Tall" Voiture
U /y/ u like in "Urgent" C'est urgent!
V /ve/ v like in "View" Vivre
W /dubləve/ w like in "Want" Kiwi
X /iks/ x like in "Wax" Taxi
Y /iɡʁɛk/ y like in "Year" Yoyo
Z /zɛd/ z like in "Zoo" Le Zoo
Œ /ø/ o like in "Oops" Un œuf
â a like in "Apple" Quel âge as-tu?
é e like in "Elephant" Un éléphant
è, ê, ë ea like in "head"
  • la tête
  • Après
  • Noël
î i like in "leave" (but shorter sound) Une île
ô o like in "only" tôt
û u like in "urgent" il fût

French Accents[edit | edit source]

French uses several accents which are worth understanding. These are: à, è, ù, (grave accents) and é (acute accent) which only applies to e. A circumflex applies to all vowels as well: â, ê, î, ô, û. And also a tréma (French for diaerasis) for vowels: ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ and combined letters: æ and oe.


Here is a specific lesson about Accents pronunciation.

Videos: How to Pronounce the French Alphabet[edit | edit source]



French Keyboard[edit | edit source]



Videos[edit | edit source]

The French Alphabet - Pronunciation and tricks - YouTube[edit | edit source]

FRENCH ALPHABET PRONUNCIATION | FRENCH ABC - YouTube[edit | edit source]

The french alphabet with Learn French With Alexa ! :) - YouTube[edit | edit source]

International Phonetic Alphabet for French (traditional pronunciation ...[edit | edit source]

Learn French - Lesson 2: Do you know the French Alphabet ...[edit | edit source]


Other Lessons[edit | edit source]

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