1.5. L’alphabet français — reconnaître et prononcer
You will recognize and pronounce all French letters.
A
/a/
Sounds like: “ah” (open, relaxed)
Example: ami (friend)
💡 Very stable sound, almost always “ah”
La lettre A se prononce a.
B
/be/ Sounds like: “bé” Example: bonjour 💡 Clean, no surprises
C
/se/ Sounds like: “cé” Example: ça ⚠️ Changes in words:
- before a/o/u → “k” (car)
- before e/i → “s” (ce)
D
/de/
Sounds like: “dé”
Example: deux
💡 Soft, not as heavy as English “d”
E
/ə/
Sounds like: “euh”
Example: le
⚠️ Very important letter, often weak or silent in words
F
/ɛf/ Sounds like: “eff” Example: femme 💡 Similar to English
G
/ʒe/ Sounds like: “jhé” Example: génial ⚠️ Changes in words:
- before a/o/u → “g” (gare)
- before e/i → “ʒ” (like J sound)
H
/aʃ/ Sounds like: “ash” Example: hôtel ⚠️ Never pronounced in words → just blocks or allows connections (liaison)
I
/i/ Sounds like: “ee” Example: ici 💡 Always sharp and clear
J
/ʒi/
Sounds like: “zhee”
Example: je
⚠️ Very different from English “J”
K
/ka/
Sounds like: “ka”
Example: kilo
💡 Rare, mostly in borrowed words
L
/ɛl/ Sounds like: “ell” Example: livre 💡 Light and clear
M
/ɛm/
Sounds like: “emm”
Example: maman
💡 Important for nasal sounds in words
N
/ɛn/ Sounds like: “enn” Example: nom 💡 Also creates nasal sounds
O
/o/
Sounds like: “oh” (pure, rounded)
Example: mot
💡 No diphthong like English
P
/pe/ Sounds like: “pé” Example: papa 💡 Less air than English “p”
Q
/ky/ Sounds like: “ku” with rounded lips Example: qui ⚠️ Almost always used with u → “qu”
R
/ɛʁ/
Sounds like: throat sound
Example: rue
⚠️ One of the hardest sounds
💡 Produced in the back of the mouth
S
/ɛs/
Sounds like: “ess”
Example: salut
⚠️ Between vowels → sounds like “z” (rose)
T
/te/ Sounds like: “té” Example: table 💡 Clean, not aspirated
U
/y/
Sounds like: tight “ee” with rounded lips
Example: tu
⚠️ No English equivalent
💡 Say “ee” while rounding lips
V
/ve/ Sounds like: “vé” Example: vous 💡 Same as English V
W
/dubləve/ Sounds like: “double vé” Example: wagon 💡 Rare, mostly foreign words
X
/iks/
Sounds like: “יקס” (iks)
Example: taxi
⚠️ Can sound like “z” or “s” in words
Y
/iɡʁɛk/
Sounds like: “ee-grek”
Example: yoga
💡 Name is longer than most letters
Z
/zɛd/
Sounds like: “zed” (not “zee”)
Example: zéro
💡 Canadian/British style