Language/French/Grammar/Beau-VS-Bel

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