The French Alphabet

The French alphabet has the same 26 letters as English. Accents (é, è, ê, à, ç…) and œ change the sound, but they are not separate letters. Tap any letter to hear its name in French.

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All 26 letters

Tap any letter to hear its name in French.

a say “ah” a as in “father”
bé say “bay” b as in “bed”
cé say “say” k before a, o, u; s before e, i, y (ç is always s)
dé say “day” d as in “dog”
e say “uh” a weak “uh” (as in “le”), often silent at the end of a word; é = “ay” without the glide, è/ê = e as in “bed”
effe say “ef” f as in “fun”
gé say “zhay” g as in “go” before a, o, u; s as in “pleasure” before e, i, y
hache say “ahsh” always silent (“homme” = “om”)
i say “ee” ee as in “see”
ji say “zhee” s as in “pleasure”: soft, not the j of “jam”
ka say “kah” k as in “skip” (no puff of air)
elle say “el” l as in “let”
emme say “em” m as in “man”
enne say “en” n as in “no”
o say “oh” a short, pure o (no “oh-oo” glide)
pé say “pay” p as in “spin” (no puff of air)
qu say “kü” k; almost always written qu, and the u is silent (“qui” = “kee”)
erre say “air” a throaty r made at the back of the mouth, like a soft gargle
esse say “ess” s as in “sun”; z between two vowels (“maison”); often silent at the end of a word
té say “tay” t as in “stop” (no puff of air)
u say “ü” say “ee” with rounded lips; not “oo” (that is spelled ou)
vé say “vay” v as in “van”
double vé say “doo-bluh-VAY” v in most words (“wagon”), w in English loanwords (“week-end”)
ixe say “eeks” ks (“taxi”), gz (“exemple”), sometimes s or z; often silent at the end (“prix”)
i grec say “ee GREK” ee as in “see”; y as in “yes” before a vowel (“yaourt”)
zède say “zed” z as in “zoo”

8 letters that sound different for English speakers

Not “ee”: a weak “uh”, often silent at the end
Not “oo”: an “ee” with rounded lips une lune · Moon
Soft, like the s in “pleasure”, not the j of “jam” un jour · day
Before e and i it sounds like the j: “zh” un genou · knee
Always silent: homme = “om” un homme · man
Made in the throat, not with the tip of the tongue une rue · street
qu is just k: “qui” = “kee”, not “kwee” une banque · bank
ch = “sh” (chat = “shah”), not “ch” as in “church” un chat · cat

Accents, ç, œ and letter pairs

Letters	Example	Sound
é · è · ê		é is a closed e (“ay” without the y glide); è and ê are open, like e in “bed”.
à · â · î · ô · û · ù		These accents rarely change the sound: ô is a closed o, â can be a little deeper. à and ù only tell words apart (là “there” / la “the”).
ë · ï · ü · ÿ		Two dots (tréma): say this vowel separately from the one before it: maïs = “ma-EESS”.
ç		c with a cedilla is always s, also before a, o, u: garçon = “gar-SOHN”.
œ		o and e joined: the same sound as eu, an “e” said with rounded lips (like German ö).
ou · au · eau		ou = “oo” as in “food”; au and eau = a pure “o”.
ch · gn		ch = sh as in “shop”; gn = ny as in “canyon”.
an · on · in		Nasal vowels: the n is not said, the vowel goes through the nose (an/en, on, in/ain).

A word for every letter

Each letter below has its name and a real word from the Flashcardly course (starting with the letter where one exists), with a picture and native audio.