Difference between revisions of "Language/French/Pronunciation/Accents"
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Revision as of 17:55, 18 May 2016
Knowing the right French accents is essential for proper spelling in French. Accent marks in French change the pronunciation and meaning of the word.
5 accent marks
There are 4 French accents for vowels and 1 for a consonant, the letter C.
The letter é is not pronounced the same as the letter è. If you are able to hear the difference, you'll also know how to spell a word.
Here is the chart of French accent marks :
Writing |
Name |
Example |
é |
Accent aigu (acute accent) |
étudiant (student) |
à, è, ù |
Accent grave (grave accent) |
où (where), après (after), J'habite à Paris (I live in Paris) |
â, ê, î, ô,û |
Accent circonflexe (accent circumflex) |
forêt (forest), plâtre (plaster), île (island), tôt (early), août (August) |
ë, ï,ü |
Accent tréma (umlaut) |
Noël (Christmas), naïve (naïve), aigüe (acute) |
ç |
Cedille (cedilla) |
garçon (boy) |
Accent aigu (acute accent)
The acute accent is very frequent and can only be used with the letter "E".
Here are some useful words using the "é":
- écrire (to write) : J'aime écrire des lettres = I like writing letters
- été (summer) : Cet été j'irai à la plage = This summer I will go to the beach
- école (school) : Son école n'est pas loin d'ici = His school is not far from here
Accent grave (grave accent)
The grave accent is only used with vowels A, E, and U like in:
- Après (after) : Après vous, je vous en prie = After you, please
- Où (where) : Où habites tu ? = Where do you live?
- À (to) : Je suis allé à Paris = I have been to Paris
Accent circonflexe (accent circumflex)
The accent circumflex appear over any vowel and means that an S used to be in the word after the vowel.
- Forêt (forest) : J'aime marcher dans la forêt = I like to walk in the forest
- Hôpital (hospital) : Je dois aller à l'hôpital = I must go to the hospital
- S'il vous plaît (please) : S'il vous plaît, pourriez-vous m'aider = Could you please help me?
- Embûche (pitfall) : Ce parcours est semé d'embûches = This route is filled with pitfalls.
- Dégâts (damage) : L'ouragan a fait d'énormes dégâts = The hurricane caused a lot of damage.
Accent tréma (umlaut)
The umlaut appears only over the vowels E, I and U. You have to pronounce each vowel separately when you see this accent.
Words using the accent tréma include:
- Noël (Christmas) : Je serai à Paris pour Noël = I will be in Paris for Christmas
- Naïve (naïve) : Elle a l'air naïve = She looks naïve.
- Capharnaüm (mess). C'est un vrai capharnaüm ici = It's a real mess here
Cedille (cedilla)
The cedilla is also only found under the letter C. It changes a hard C sound (like K) into a soft C sound (like S).
Examples:
- français (French): Apprendre le français = Learn French
- ça (this) : ça me semble difficile = It looks hard
How to Type Accent Marks
Pronunciation
The accents are a key to understanding pronunciation.
The video below will help you identify sounds of accents on the E letter :