The French Alphabet
Learn the French alphabet with pronunciation guidance, examples, and beginner-friendly patterns. This Serious French lesson helps you recognize French letters, sounds, and spelling habits.
1.5.1. The Main Idea
The French alphabet has the same 26 letters as the English alphabet, but many letters are pronounced differently.
A | a |
B | bé |
C | cé |
D | dé |
E | e |
F | effe |
G | gé |
Knowing the alphabet helps you spell names, email addresses, street names, and words.
1.5.2. The French Alphabet
A | a |
B | bé |
C | cé |
D | dé |
E | e |
F | effe |
G | gé |
H | ache |
I | i |
J | ji |
K | ka |
L | elle |
M | emme |
N | enne |
O | o |
P | pé |
Q | ku |
R | erre |
S | esse |
T | té |
U | u |
V | vé |
W | double vé |
X | ix |
Y | i grec |
Z | zède |
1.5.3. Letters That Often Feel Different from English
E | pronounced like a soft “uh” sound |
G | sounds like j in French alphabet pronunciation |
H | called ache and is usually silent in words |
J | pronounced ji |
Q | pronounced ku |
R | French r, pronounced in the throat |
U | rounded French u, not English “you” |
W | usually double vé |
Y | i grec, literally “Greek i” |
1.5.4. Spelling a Name
Use ça s’écrit… to say how something is spelled.
Comment ça s’écrit ? | How is that written? / How do you spell that? |
Ça s’écrit H-A-O-X-U-A-N. | It is spelled H-A-O-X-U-A-N. |
Mon prénom s’écrit H-A-O-X-U-A-N. | My first name is spelled H-A-O-X-U-A-N. |
Mon nom s’écrit F-A-N-G. | My last name is spelled F-A-N-G. |
1.5.5. Asking Someone to Spell Something
Tu peux épeler ? | Can you spell it? informal |
Vous pouvez épeler ? | Can you spell it? formal / plural |
Tu peux répéter ? | Can you repeat? informal |
Vous pouvez répéter ? | Can you repeat? formal / plural |
Comment tu écris ton prénom ? | How do you write your first name? informal |
Comment vous écrivez votre nom ? | How do you write your name? formal / plural |
1.5.6. Useful Words for Spelling
une lettre | a letter |
un mot | a word |
un prénom | a first name |
un nom | a name / last name |
un nom de famille | a family name / last name |
une adresse email | an email address |
une adresse | an address |
épeler | to spell |
écrire | to write |
répéter | to repeat |
1.5.7. Accents and Special Marks
French also uses accents and marks. They are not separate letters, but they change spelling and sometimes pronunciation.
é | e accent aigu |
è | e accent grave |
ê | e accent circonflexe |
ë | e tréma |
ç | c cédille |
à | a accent grave |
ù | u accent grave |
ô | o accent circonflexe |
Examples:
café | café / coffee |
très | very |
forêt | forest |
Noël | Christmas |
français | French |
à | to / at / in |
où | where |
1.5.8. Capital and Lowercase Letters
une majuscule | a capital letter |
une minuscule | a lowercase letter |
en majuscules | in capital letters |
en minuscules | in lowercase letters |
Écris en majuscules. | Write in capital letters. |
Écrivez en minuscules. | Write in lowercase letters. formal / plural |
1.5.9. Spelling Slowly
Lentement, s’il te plaît. | Slowly, please. informal |
Lentement, s’il vous plaît. | Slowly, please. formal / plural |
Plus lentement, s’il te plaît. | More slowly, please. informal |
Plus lentement, s’il vous plaît. | More slowly, please. formal / plural |
Lettre par lettre. | Letter by letter. |
Encore une fois, s’il te plaît. | One more time, please. informal |
Encore une fois, s’il vous plaît. | One more time, please. formal / plural |
1.5.10. Core Patterns
Comment ça s’écrit ? | How do you spell that? |
Ça s’écrit ___. | It is spelled ___. |
Tu peux épeler ? | Can you spell it? |
Vous pouvez répéter ? | Can you repeat? formal / plural |
Lentement, s’il vous plaît. | Slowly, please. formal / plural |
Lettre par lettre. | Letter by letter. |
une majuscule | a capital letter |
une minuscule | a lowercase letter |
1.5.11. Practice
How do you spell that? | |
Can you spell it? informal | |
Can you repeat? formal | |
It is spelled F-A-N-G. | |
My first name is spelled H-A-O-X-U-A-N. | |
Slowly, please. formal | |
Letter by letter. | |
Write in capital letters. informal | |
a lowercase letter | |
an email address |
1.5.12. Answers
How do you spell that? | Comment ça s’écrit ? |
Can you spell it? informal | Tu peux épeler ? |
Can you repeat? formal | Vous pouvez répéter ? |
It is spelled F-A-N-G. | Ça s’écrit F-A-N-G. |
My first name is spelled H-A-O-X-U-A-N. | Mon prénom s’écrit H-A-O-X-U-A-N. |
Slowly, please. formal | Lentement, s’il vous plaît. |
Letter by letter. | Lettre par lettre. |
Write in capital letters. informal | Écris en majuscules. |
a lowercase letter | une minuscule |
an email address | une adresse email |
1.5.13. Short Dialogue
A : Comment tu t’appelles ? | A: What is your name? |
B : Je m’appelle Haoxuan. | B: My name is Haoxuan. |
A : Comment ça s’écrit ? | A: How do you spell that? |
B : Ça s’écrit H-A-O-X-U-A-N. | B: It is spelled H-A-O-X-U-A-N. |
A : Tu peux répéter, s’il te plaît ? | A: Can you repeat, please? |
B : Oui. H-A-O-X-U-A-N. | B: Yes. H-A-O-X-U-A-N. |
1.5.14. Checkpoint
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to recognize the French alphabet, spell names and words, ask someone to spell or repeat something, understand basic accent marks, and use expressions such as comment ça s’écrit, ça s’écrit, and lettre par lettre.
1.5.15. Try It Out
Try saying this in French:
How do you spell your name?
My name is spelled [your name spelled].
Possible answer:
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