Learn the French Alphabet

L'alphabet

Learn to read the French Alphabet (L'alphabet): all 26 letters with names, sounds and audio, plus flashcards, listening, typing and matching practice.

Letter	Name	Latin letters	Sound
A a	A	a	a as in father (shorter and brighter)
B b	Bé	b	b as in ball
C c	Cé	c	k before a, o, u; s before e, i, y; ç is always s
D d	Dé	d	d as in dog (tongue touching the teeth)
E e	E	e	plain e is a soft 'uh' (often silent at the end); é is like 'ay' without the y-glide; è/ê is e as in bed
F f	Effe	f	f as in fun
G g	Gé	g	hard g as in go before a, o, u; soft 'zh' (as in measure) before e, i, y
H h	Ache	h	always silent: homme sounds like 'om'
I i	I	i	ee as in see (short and tense)
J j	Ji	j	'zh' as in measure, never the English j
K k	Ka	k	k as in skip (no puff of air); rare, mostly in borrowed words
L l	Elle	l	l as in light (always clear, never dark)
M m	Emme	m	m as in mother
N n	Enne	n	n as in no; after a vowel it often makes the vowel nasal (as in non)
O o	O	o	o as in 'oh' without the w-glide; open o as in 'off' before a sounded consonant
P p	Pé	p	p as in spin (no puff of air)
Q q	Qu	q	k sound; almost always written qu, and the u is silent
R r	Erre	r	soft gargle at the back of the throat, like gently clearing it
S s	Esse	s	s as in sun; z between two vowels (rose); usually silent at the end of a word
T t	Té	t	t as in stop (tongue on the teeth, no puff of air)
U u	U	u	say 'ee' while rounding your lips as for 'oo' (no English equivalent)
V v	Vé	v	v as in van
W w	Double vé	w	v or w depending on the word; only in borrowed words
X x	Ixe	x	ks as in taxi; gz in exemple; s in dix; usually silent at the end
Y y	I grec	y	ee as in see, or y as in yes before a vowel
Z z	Zède	z	z as in zoo

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