Language/French/Pronunciation/Accents

Knowing the right French accents (les accents français) is essential for proper spelling and pronunciation in the French language. Accent marks in French not only change the pronunciation but also the meaning of the word. In this lesson, we will explain how to use French accents and dive into the various accents used in the language.

Once you have a good grasp on French accents, you might want to master the French alphabet to further improve your pronunciation skills. Additionally, it's interesting to explore the regional accents of France to understand the diversity in pronunciation across the country. And if you're curious about why the often struggle with English, check out this insightful article.

So, let's dive into the world of French accents and enhance your language skills! 🇫🇷🗣️

5 accent marks

There are four French accents for vowels and one 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	Pronunciation
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 (Diaeresis)	Noël (Christmas), naïve (naïve), aiguë (acute)
ç	Cedille (cedilla)	garçon (boy)

More examples

• â : [a]. Examples : château, gâteau.
• à : [a]. Examples : Je vais à l'école, déjà.
• ç : [ss]. Used to make the "[ss]" sound before "a", "o" and "u". "ce", "ci" and "cy" are already sounding "[ssi]" without any accent (called "cédille" [sedi:]). Examples : ça, garçon.
• é : [e]. Examples : chéri, j'ai mangé.
• è, ê : [ä]. Examples : fête, tête, Grèce.
• ë : [ø]. This letter, used as the female mark of adjectives finishing with an [-u] as an exception. Example : ciguë, exigu (male) --> exiguë (female), contigu (male) --> contiguë (female). The two forms have the same pronounciation ("[ägzigü]").
• î : [i]. Examples : île, aîné, gîte.
• ï : [i/j]. The pronounciation can be different for different words. Examples : naïf, laïc.
• ô : [o]. Used to make a word sound [o] instead of [ɔ]. Examples : tôt, rôti.
• œ : [ə]. Examples : œuf, sœur, cœur.
• û : [ü]. Examples : dû, mûre, goût.
• ü : [ɔ]/[Pronounciation of the original word in the source language]. Letter coming from other languages, except one word. Examples : capharnaüm.
• ÿ : [j]. Letter used in some town names. Examples : L'Haÿ-les-Roses.

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

L'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

L'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.

Le tréma (the Diaeresis)

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

La cédille (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

Videos

Pronunciation

The videos below will help you identify sounds of accents on the E letter :

Type French accent marks on your computer

How can you type the French accents if you don't have a French keyboard?

Other Lessons

• How to pronounce R
• Liaisons
• Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Silent Final Consonants
• France Regional Accents
• Accents (advanced level)
• Aspirated VS non aspirated h
• b and p