{"id":70,"date":"2026-09-30T15:18:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T14:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leweb2ks.dev\/vitrine-vocadial\/en\/resources\/french-alphabet\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T15:18:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T14:18:56","slug":"french-alphabet","status":"publish","type":"vd_ressource","link":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/resources\/french-alphabet\/","title":{"rendered":"The French alphabet: letters, pronunciation, accents and spelling"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 26 letters and their names<\/h2>\n\n

In the pronunciation column, “zh” is the s in “measure”, “uh” is the short vowel in “the”, and (n) marks a nasal vowel. The French \u00e9 is a pure sound: say “bay” or “day” without the little “ee” glide English adds at the end.<\/p>\n\n

Letter<\/th>Name<\/th>Say the name like<\/th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
a<\/td>a<\/td>ah<\/td>ami<\/span> (friend)<\/td><\/tr>
b<\/td>b\u00e9<\/td>bay<\/td>bonjour<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
c<\/td>c\u00e9<\/td>say<\/td>caf\u00e9<\/span>, cin\u00e9ma<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
d<\/td>d\u00e9<\/td>day<\/td>dix<\/span> (ten)<\/td><\/tr>
e<\/td>e<\/td>uh<\/td>le<\/span>, petit<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
f<\/td>effe<\/td>ef<\/td>fille<\/span> (girl)<\/td><\/tr>
g<\/td>g\u00e9<\/td>zhay<\/td>g\u00e2teau<\/span> (cake), girafe<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
h<\/td>ache<\/td>ash<\/td>h\u00f4tel<\/span>, silent h<\/td><\/tr>
i<\/td>i<\/td>ee<\/td>\u00eele<\/span> (island)<\/td><\/tr>
j<\/td>ji<\/td>zhee<\/td>jour<\/span> (day)<\/td><\/tr>
k<\/td>ka<\/td>kah<\/td>kilo<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
l<\/td>elle<\/td>el<\/td>lune<\/span> (moon)<\/td><\/tr>
m<\/td>emme<\/td>em<\/td>maman<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
n<\/td>enne<\/td>en<\/td>nuit<\/span> (night)<\/td><\/tr>
o<\/td>o<\/td>oh<\/td>orange<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
p<\/td>p\u00e9<\/td>pay<\/td>pain<\/span> (bread)<\/td><\/tr>
q<\/td>qu<\/td>k\u00fc: “kee” with lips rounded as for “oo”<\/td>quatre<\/span> (four)<\/td><\/tr>
r<\/td>erre<\/td>air, with a throaty r<\/td>rouge<\/span> (red)<\/td><\/tr>
s<\/td>esse<\/td>ess<\/td>soleil<\/span> (sun)<\/td><\/tr>
t<\/td>t\u00e9<\/td>tay<\/td>table<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
u<\/td>u<\/td>\u00fc: “ee” with lips rounded as for “oo”<\/td>rue<\/span> (street)<\/td><\/tr>
v<\/td>v\u00e9<\/td>vay<\/td>v\u00e9lo<\/span> (bike)<\/td><\/tr>
w<\/td>double v\u00e9<\/td>doo-bluh-VAY<\/td>wagon<\/span>, week-end<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
x<\/td>ixe<\/td>eeks<\/td>taxi<\/span>, dix<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
y<\/td>i grec<\/td>ee grek<\/td>yaourt<\/span> (yoghurt), stylo<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
z<\/td>z\u00e8de<\/td>zed<\/td>z\u00e9ro<\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Letter names are masculine: un a<\/span>, un e muet<\/span>, deux l<\/span>. In Belgium you may hear w\u00e9<\/span> for w; everywhere else it is double v\u00e9<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

The tune of the alphabet song is the same in French and English, and it is French to begin with: the melody of “Twinkle, Twinkle” is an old French song, Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman<\/span>. Pupils like knowing that.<\/p>\n\n

Four pairs English speakers mix up<\/h3>\n\n
  1. E and I.<\/strong> French e<\/span> is “uh” and i<\/span> is “ee”. An English speaker who says “ee” for E is saying the French I. This is the most frequent spelling error of all.<\/li>
  2. G and J swap sounds.<\/strong> French g\u00e9<\/span> sounds like English “J” (jay), and French ji<\/span> sounds like English “G” (gee). Pupils who know this rule stop guessing.<\/li>
  3. A and R.<\/strong> French a<\/span> is “ah”, not “ay”; erre<\/span> is “air”, not “ar”.<\/li>
  4. U and Q.<\/strong> Both use the French u, lips rounded and pushed forward. Neither is “you” nor “kyoo”.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

    Accents, c\u00e9dille and tr\u00e9ma<\/h2>\n\n
    Sign<\/th>French name<\/th>On which letters<\/th>Examples<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    \u00e9<\/td>accent aigu<\/span><\/td>e only<\/td>\u00e9t\u00e9<\/span>, \u00e9cole<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
    \u00e8<\/td>accent grave<\/span><\/td>e, a, u<\/td>m\u00e8re<\/span>, \u00e0<\/span>, o\u00f9<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
    \u00ea<\/td>accent circonflexe<\/span><\/td>a, e, i, o, u<\/td>ch\u00e2teau<\/span>, f\u00eate<\/span>, \u00eele<\/span>, h\u00f4pital<\/span>, s\u00fbr<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
    \u00eb<\/td>tr\u00e9ma<\/span><\/td>e, i, u (and y in a few names)<\/td>No\u00ebl<\/span>, ma\u00efs<\/span>, na\u00eff<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
    \u00e7<\/td>c\u00e9dille<\/span><\/td>c only<\/td>gar\u00e7on<\/span>, fran\u00e7ais<\/span>, re\u00e7u<\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n
    1. \u00c9, \u00e8 and \u00ea change the sound.<\/strong> \u00e9<\/span> is the closed “ay” of \u00e9t\u00e9<\/span>; \u00e8<\/span> and \u00ea<\/span> are the open e of “bet”, as in m\u00e8re<\/span> and f\u00eate<\/span>. An e with no accent is often “uh” or silent, but it can also sound like \u00e8 before a double consonant or a final consonant: elle<\/span>, mer<\/span>.<\/li>
    2. The grave accent on a and u tells words apart.<\/strong> a<\/span> (has) and \u00e0<\/span> (to, at); la<\/span> (the) and l\u00e0<\/span> (there); ou<\/span> (or) and o\u00f9<\/span> (where). The letter \u00f9 exists in one word only: o\u00f9<\/span>.<\/li>
    3. The circumflex often marks a lost s.<\/strong> h\u00f4pital<\/span> (hospital), for\u00eat<\/span> (forest), f\u00eate<\/span> (feast), \u00eele<\/span> (isle), ch\u00e2teau<\/span> (castle). A great cognate trick for KS3. It also separates pairs: sur<\/span> (on) and s\u00fbr<\/span> (sure), du<\/span> and d\u00fb<\/span>.<\/li>
    4. The tr\u00e9ma splits two vowels.<\/strong> ma\u00efs<\/span> (maize) is “ma-EES”, while mais<\/span> (but) is “may”. Same in No\u00ebl<\/span> and na\u00eff<\/span>. A \u00ff appears only in a few names, such as L’Ha\u00ff-les-Roses.<\/li>
    5. The c\u00e9dille softens c.<\/strong> Before a, o and u, \u00e7 is an s: \u00e7a<\/span>, gar\u00e7on<\/span>, re\u00e7u<\/span>. It never appears before e or i, where c is already soft.<\/li>
    6. Capitals keep their accents.<\/strong> The Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7aise recommends \u00c9cole<\/span>, \u00c9tat<\/span>, \u00c7a<\/span>. In France accents are often left off capitals in practice, especially on signs; in Quebec they are kept consistently.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

      The 1990 spelling reform made the circumflex optional on i and u, except where it tells words apart (s\u00fbr<\/span>, d\u00fb<\/span>, m\u00fbr<\/span>) and in some verb endings. Bo\u00eete<\/span> and boite<\/span>, conna\u00eetre<\/span> and connaitre<\/span>, ao\u00fbt<\/span> and aout<\/span> are all correct. Accept both from pupils.<\/p>\n\n

      The ligatures \u0153 and \u00e6<\/h2>\n\n

      Two letters joined together, not letters of the alphabet: in dictionaries, \u0153<\/span> is filed as o + e.<\/p>\n\n

      • \u0153<\/span>, called e dans l’o<\/span> or o e coll\u00e9s<\/span>: c\u0153ur<\/span> (heart), s\u0153ur<\/span> (sister), \u0153uf<\/span> (egg), b\u0153uf<\/span> (beef), \u0153il<\/span> (eye), v\u0153u<\/span> (wish), \u0153uvre<\/span> (work of art). It usually sounds like eu; in a few learned words it is \u00e9, as in \u0152dipe<\/span>.<\/li>
      • \u00e6<\/span>, called e dans l’a<\/span> or a e coll\u00e9s<\/span>: rare, in Latin words and names such as ex \u00e6quo<\/span> (tied, also written ex aequo), curriculum vit\u00e6<\/span> and L\u00e6titia<\/span>. It sounds like \u00e9.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

        In quick typing many French speakers write “coeur” or “soeur”, but careful writing uses the ligature. For pupils, knowing that s\u0153ur<\/span> has one is enough at KS3.<\/p>\n\n

        Silent letters and the h<\/h2>\n\n

        Many final consonants are silent: petit<\/span>, vous<\/span>, grand<\/span>. A handy rule of thumb taught in many UK classrooms is CaReFuL: final c, r, f and l are often pronounced (sac<\/span>, mer<\/span>, neuf<\/span>, sel<\/span>). It has exceptions, starting with -er verbs such as parler<\/span>, and blanc<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

        The h is never pronounced. Most words start with a “mute” h, which allows elision and liaison: l’h\u00f4tel<\/span>, les h\u00f4tels<\/span> (lay-zo-TEL). A few start with an “aspirate” h, which blocks both: le haricot<\/span>, les h\u00e9ros<\/span> (lay ay-ROH). Dictionaries mark them.<\/p>\n\n

        Spelling aloud: names and email addresses<\/h2>\n\n
        • Comment \u00e7a s’\u00e9crit ?<\/span> or \u00c7a s’\u00e9crit comment ?<\/span>: How do you spell it?<\/li>
        • Tu peux \u00e9peler ton nom ?<\/span> Vous pouvez \u00e9peler, s’il vous pla\u00eet ?<\/span>: Can you spell your name?<\/li>
        • deux l<\/span>, deux t<\/span>: double l, double t<\/li>
        • e accent aigu<\/span>, e accent grave<\/span>, c c\u00e9dille<\/span><\/li>
        • majuscule<\/span>, minuscule<\/span>: capital, lower case<\/li>
        • trait d’union<\/span>: hyphen, as in Jean-Pierre<\/span>; apostrophe<\/span><\/li>
        • arobase<\/span>: @; point<\/span>: dot; tiret<\/span>: hyphen; tiret bas<\/span> or tiret du 8<\/span>: underscore<\/li>
        • In Quebec, @ is also called arobas<\/span> or a commercial<\/span>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

          To clear up a letter, people add a word: M comme Marseille<\/span>, B comme Bordeaux<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

          Je m’appelle Hughes : H, U, G, H, E, S.<\/span>My name is Hughes: H, U, G, H, E, S.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

          Mon adresse, c’est jo point smith arobase exemple point com.<\/span>My address is jo.smith@exemple.com.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

          Gar\u00e7on s’\u00e9crit avec un c c\u00e9dille.<\/span>Gar\u00e7on is spelt with a c cedilla.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

          Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n
          • E and I swapped<\/strong>, and G and J swapped<\/strong>: see the four pairs above.<\/li>
          • English names for letters:<\/strong> “aitch” for ache<\/span>, “why” for i grec<\/span>, “ar” for erre<\/span>.<\/li>
          • Accents in the wrong direction<\/strong>, or \u00e9 used for every accent: “m\u00e9re”, “tr\u00e9s”.<\/li>
          • Missing c\u00e9dille:<\/strong> “Francais”, “garcon”, “ca va”.<\/li>
          • Reading the tr\u00e9ma as a German umlaut<\/strong>, from pupils who also learn German.<\/li>
          • Pronouncing silent letters:<\/strong> a t at the end of petit<\/span>, an h at the start of h\u00f4tel<\/span>.<\/li>
          • Spelling double letters one by one<\/strong> (“L, L”) instead of deux l<\/span>: not wrong, but less natural.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

            In class: spelling routines<\/h2>\n\n
            1. Show a word: the word of the day, a pupil’s name, a French town.<\/li>
            2. One pupil spells it aloud; the rest write it on mini whiteboards without looking.<\/li>
            3. Reveal the word and check the traps: E or I, G or J, accents, c\u00e9dille.<\/li>
            4. Reverse the roles: you spell a mystery word, the class writes it and translates it.<\/li>
            5. Pass the role of speller to a different pupil each day.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

              Quick games work well alongside: le pendu<\/span> (hangman); le petit bac<\/span>, the classic French game where you find a word in each category starting with a given letter; and an “E or I?” quick-fire round.<\/p>\n\n

              Adapting to your class<\/h3>\n\n
              • A1<\/b>Say the letters and spell your first name: Je m’appelle L\u00e9a : L, E accent aigu, A.<\/span><\/li>
              • A2<\/b>Spell a surname, a town, an email address; ask \u00c7a s’\u00e9crit comment ?<\/span><\/li>
              • B1<\/b>Accents and what they change: a<\/span> \/ \u00e0<\/span>, ou<\/span> \/ o\u00f9<\/span>, sur<\/span> \/ s\u00fbr<\/span>; dictation<\/li>
              • B2<\/b>Spelling of sounds: the many ways to write “o” (o, au, eau<\/span>) or “\u00e8” (\u00e8, \u00ea, ai, ei<\/span>); mute and aspirate h<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

                At KS2, the song and the vowels are a good start. At KS3, the accents and the four pairs deserve explicit teaching. At GCSE, spelling a name or a street is a classic of listening practice, and accurate accents count in writing.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                The 26 letters with their French names, the accents, c\u00e9dille, tr\u00e9ma and \u0153, the E\/I and G\/J traps, and how to get pupils spelling aloud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":15,"template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"French Alphabet: Letters, Accents, Pronunciation | VocaDial","_seopress_titles_desc":"The French alphabet letter by letter: names, pronunciation for English speakers, accents, c\u00e9dille, tr\u00e9ma, \u0153 and \u00e6, spelling aloud and classroom routines.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_vd_topic":"alphabet","_vd_target":"fr","_vd_module":"","_vd_level":"A1","_vd_minutes":"8","_vd_card_word":"a, b\u00e9, c\u00e9\u2026","_vd_answer":"The French alphabet has the same 26 letters as English, with different names: a, b\u00e9, c\u00e9, d\u00e9, e, effe, g\u00e9, ache, i, ji, ka, elle, emme, enne, o, p\u00e9, qu, erre, esse, t\u00e9, u, v\u00e9, double v\u00e9, ixe, i grec, z\u00e8de<\/span>. French adds accents (\u00e9, \u00e8, \u00ea, \u00e0, \u00f9, \u00e2, \u00ee, \u00f4, \u00fb<\/span>), the tr\u00e9ma (\u00eb, \u00ef, \u00fc<\/span>), the c\u00e9dille (\u00e7<\/span>) and two ligatures, \u0153<\/span> and \u00e6<\/span>, which are not counted as separate letters.","_vd_faq":"[{\"q\":\"How many letters are there in the French alphabet?\",\"a\":\"26, the same as in English. Accented letters, \u00e7 and the ligatures \u0153 and \u00e6 are not counted as separate letters.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you pronounce the French alphabet?\",\"a\":\"The trickiest letters for English speakers are E (\\\"uh\\\"), I (\\\"ee\\\"), G (\\\"zhay\\\"), J (\\\"zhee\\\"), H (\\\"ash\\\"), R (\\\"air\\\") and U, a French u with rounded lips.\"},{\"q\":\"What are the French accents?\",\"a\":\"The accent aigu<\\\/span> (\u00e9), accent grave<\\\/span> (\u00e8, \u00e0, \u00f9), accent circonflexe<\\\/span> (\u00e2, \u00ea, \u00ee, \u00f4, \u00fb) and tr\u00e9ma<\\\/span> (\u00eb, \u00ef, \u00fc). The c\u00e9dille<\\\/span> (\u00e7) is usually taught with them.\"},{\"q\":\"Is \u0153 a letter in French?\",\"a\":\"No. It is a ligature of o and e, called e dans l'o<\\\/span>, found in words such as c\u0153ur<\\\/span>, s\u0153ur<\\\/span> and \u0153uf<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you say @ in French?\",\"a\":\"Arobase<\\\/span>. A dot is point<\\\/span>. In Quebec you will also hear arobas<\\\/span> or a commercial<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"Why do English speakers mix up G and J in French?\",\"a\":\"Because the names are swapped: French G (g\u00e9<\\\/span>) sounds like English J, and French J (ji<\\\/span>) sounds like English G.\"}]","_vd_key":"alphabet-fr","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-70","vd_ressource","type-vd_ressource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vd_ressource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/70\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}