Language/French/Grammar/Beau-VS-Bel
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Bonjour, Good morning,
In today's lesson, you will learn the difference between the adjectives "Bel" and "Beau".
Bel and Beau both mean "beautiful".
Rule
Here is the rule:
The adjective "Beau" (singular masculine) becomes "Bel" when the noun (singular masculine) to which it refers starts with a vowel or a silent "h".
Examples
- "Un bel oiseau" NOT "un beau oiseau".
A beautiful bird
- Le violon est un bel instrument
The violin is a beautiful instrument
- un bel enfant
a beautiful child
- un bel appartement
a beautiful apartment
- un bel exemple
a beautiful example
Exception
There is an exception when the noun starts with an "h".
Examples:
- Un bel hortensia
A beautiful hydrangea
- un bel hôtel
A beautiful hotel
- un bel hippodrome.
A beautiful racecourse