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If you’re just starting on the path to learn French, one of the first things you may want to memorize is the French alphabet (alphabet) chart. The alphabet in the French language isn’t unlike English at first glance, but knowing a bit more about the pronunciation (pronunciation) of each letter and how it differs from English can help you to pronounce French words with confidence.
What letters are in the French alphabet?
There are 26 lettres (letters) in the alphabet in the French language. They are the same 26 letters as English and are even in the same order. This is great news, as you will easily recognize them. In fact, many words in French are mots apparentés (cognates), meaning they look a lot like English words and also mean the same thing. Since you’ll easily identify words like concert, lion, aventure, and banane, you’ve already got a head start on understanding and speaking French!
There are also multiple accents (accent or diacritical marks) in French. You’ll find them over vowels and in the letter ç. These accents can sometimes change the pronunciation of the letters in le français (French).
Pronouncing the French alphabet
You’ll need to learn French alphabet pronunciation as you review each of the French letters of the alphabet so you can écrire (write) and épeler (spell out) new words correctly.
You could ask a French speaker to spell a new word out loud to help you comprehend it during a conversation. Then, repeat it several times to help you read and speak French with confidence.
- Comment écrivez-vous ce mot? = How do you spell (write) this word?
- Pouvez-vous m’épeler votre nom? = Can you spell out your name for me?
This French alphabet pronunciation chart shows how each of the letters is sounded out in French. For instance, we teach “a” as in “say” but in French it’s “a” as in “ah.”
| French Letter | French Pronunciation | English Pronunciation |
| a | a | ah |
| b | bé | bay |
| c | cé | say |
| d | dé | day |
| e | œ | euh |
| f | effe | eff |
| g | gé | zjay |
| h | ache | ahsh |
| i | i | ee |
| j | ji | zjee |
| k | ka | kah |
| l | elle | ell |
| m | emme | em |
| n | enne | en |
| o | o | oh |
| p | pé | pay |
| q | ku | koo |
| r | erre | air |
| s | esse | ess |
| t | té | tay |
| u | ü | euoo |
| v | vé | vay |
| w | double vé | doo-bleuh-vay |
| x | ixe | eeks |
| y | igrec | ee-grehk |
| z | zed | zed |
The trickiest letters in the French alphabet
The French alphabet pronunciation chart is just the beginning. English speakers will need to pay close attention to these tricky letters in the alphabet in the French language to avoid confusion.
Letters “e” and “i”
In French the letter “e” is pronounced “euh.” To approximate this sound, try saying the word “her” very slowly, but stopping yourself before you start to close your mouth to pronounce the “r.”
The letter “i” is pronounced “ee.” Knowing the French alphabet in order can help, since you’ll say “ahsh, ee, zjee, kah” (h, i, j, k) in sequence.
Letters “g” and “j”
Both “g” and “j” have a softer “j” sound to them. This “j” sound is pronounced like the “s” in “Asia” or “treasure.” But the last part of the sound is different.
They can be tricky because “g” is “zjay” and “j” is “zjee.” Memorizing the sequence “euh, eff, zjay” for “e, f, g” can help you remember which is which.
The French “u” sound
English does not have this sound, so it takes some practice to learn. Try holding out the sound “eeee.” Without changing the sound of the vowel, round your lips into the shape of “oooo.” You’ll hear this sound in many French words such as:
- tu = you
- du = of the
- la rue = the street
- salut = hi
- J’ai lu le livre. = I read the book. (past tense)
- J’ai vu le film. = I saw the movie.
Sometimes when combined with other letters, “u” has a different sound, like in jeune (young), where “eu” sounds like “euh,” or in jaune (yellow) where “au” sounds like “oh.”
>>Mastered the French alphabet? Learn French numbers next!
Common French accent marks
In addition to the alphabet characters, French accent marks, also known as diacritical marks, are part of how French words are spelled. The Académie Française decides when alternate spellings, such as omitting the circonflexe (^), are officially accepted.
| French Accent Mark | Name |
| é | l’accent aigu (acute accent) |
| è | l’accent grave (grave accent) |
| ê | le circonflexe (circumflex) |
| ë | le tréma (diaeresis) known as “umlaut” in German |
| ç | la cédille (cedilla) |
You can improve your French pronunciation by being familiar with how different sounds are formed and how accents affect the pronunciation of letters.
French pronunciation guide using the alphabet and accent marks
You can start to master French pronunciation using the alphabet, but French isn’t pronounced phonetically. It has many phonemes or combinations of letters that form sons (sounds). Some combinations of letters and accent marks will change the pronunciation of a letter within a word. Due to French grammar rules, the spelling of a word and the pronunciation will change.
The charts below provide a very simplified representation of French sounds. Actual pronunciation varies greatly, because there are many French dialects around the world, each with their own unique accents!
Les voyelles (the vowels)
French contains over a dozen different vowel sounds including nasal vowels beyond just “ah” “eh” “ee” “oh” and the distinct French “u.”
| French Vowels | Pronunciation | Example |
| a | “ah” | la banane (the banana) |
| à | “ah” | voilà (there is) |
| â | “ah” | le château (the castle) |
| ai | “ai”“eh” | mai (May)la douzaine (the dozen) |
| aim | nasal “ein” | la faim (hunger) |
| au | “oh” | chaud (hot) |
| e (in the middle of a syllable) | “ay” | merci (thank you) |
| e (at the end of a syllable) | “euh” | ce (this) |
| e (at the end of a word) | silent | encore (again) |
| é | “ay” | l’étoile (the star) |
| è | “ay” | la mère (the mother) |
| ê | between “eh” and “ay” | la baguette (the baguette) |
| eau | “oh” | le bateau (the boat) |
| em/en/an | nasal “ehn” | le temps (he weather) |
| eu | “euh” | heureux (happy) |
| i | “ee” | l’idée (the idea) |
| in | nasal “ein” | le cousin (the cousin) |
| o | between “oh” and “uh” | la pomme (the apple) |
| ô | “oh” | l’hôpital (the hospital) |
| œu | “euh” | la sœur (the sister) |
| oi | “wah” | la loi (the law) |
| om | nasal “ohn” | le prénom (the first name) |
| on | nasal “ohn” | le bonbon (the candy) |
| ou | “oo” | nouvelle (new) |
| u | French “u” (doesn’t exist in English) | vu (seen) |
| un | nasal “uhn” | brun (brown) |
Les consonnes (the consonants)
Generally, consonants are not pronounced at the end of a French word except for “c,” “r,” “f,” and “l.” Other exceptions would be loan words from another language and infinitive verbs ending in “-er” which is pronounced “ay” as in manger (to eat).
| French Consonant | Sound | Example |
| b | “b” | bonjour (hello) |
| c | “k” | la cravate (the necktie) |
| c (before e or i) | “s” | cent (hundred) |
| ç | “s” | le français (French) |
| ch | “sh” | le chocolat (the chocolate) |
| d | “d” | devant (in front of) |
| f | “f” | la fille (the girl) |
| g | hard “g” | regarder (to look at) |
| g (before e or i) | “zj” like the “s” in “treasure” | la giraffe (the giraffe) |
| h | silent | l’hôtel (the hotel) |
| j | “zj” like the “s” in “treasure” | toujours (always) |
| k | “k” | le ski (ski) |
| l | “l” | plus (more |
| ll | “l” | belle (beautiful) |
| ll (following a vowel + i) | “y” | la feuille (leaf) |
| m | “m” | comme (like, as) |
| n | “n”except in nasal vowel sounds | donner (to give) |
| p | “p” | peut-être (maybe) |
| ph | “f” | le téléphone (the telephone) |
| qu | “k” | quelque (some) |
| r | French “r” (from back of throat) | rien (nothing) |
| s (at beginning of word) | “s” | seule (lonely, alone) |
| s (between vowels) | “z” | le besoin (the need) |
| ss | “s” | laisser (to leave) |
| t | “t” | trouver (to find) |
| th | “t” | la bibliothèque (library) |
| v | “v” | vivre (to live) |
| w | “w” | le weekend (weekend) |
| x | “z” | le xylophone (xylophone) |
| y | “y” | le yaourt (yogurt) |
| z | “z” | quinze (fifteen) |
Effect of accent marks on pronunciation in French
French accent marks aren’t merely decorative. While they don’t demonstrate stressed syllables like in Spanish, they are considered part of the spelling of the word and can change its meaning or pronunciation. For example, ou means “or” but with an accent où means “where.”
| French Accent Mark | Name | Pronunciation Change |
| é | accent aigu (acute accent) | pronounced “ay” |
| è | accent grave (grave accent) | pronounced “eh” |
| ê | circonflexe (circumflex) | usually none; indicates a historical spelling or pronunciation change |
| oë | tréma (diaeresis) known as “umlaut” in German | indicates you should pronounce both vowels independently, as in naïve or Noël. |
| ç | cédille (cedilla) | pronounce the ç like “s” |
Common French initialisms
Knowing your French alphabet and how to pronounce each letter can help you understand and pronounce les sigles (initialisms), which are abbreviations formed from the letters in a phrase. Each letter is pronounced separately, and they’re almost always written as majuscule (uppercase).
| French Initialism | French Phrase | English Meaning |
| AOC | appellation d’origine contrôlée | the quality control of certain French products such as wine and cheese |
| ADN | acide désoxyribonucléique (DNA) | DNA |
| BD | bande dessinée | comic book |
| le franc CFA | le franc Communauté financière africaine | shared currency of some African nations |
| CP | cours préparatoire | equivalent of first grade in US schools |
| OGM | organisme génétiquement modifié | genetically modified organism (GMO) |
| ONG | organisation non gouvernementale | non-governmental organization (NGO) |
| SNCF | Société nationale des chemins de fer | French national train system |
| TGV | train à grande vitesse | high-speed train |
| VTT | vélo/véhicule tout terrain | all-terrain bike or vehicle |
Since the following abbreviations are acronymes (acronyms), they are pronounced like any other word in French. You would not spell each letter when saying them.
- l’ONU: l’Organisation des Nations Unies = the UN: the United Nations
- un OVNI: un objet volant non identifié = a UFO: an unidentified flying object
>>Learn to use common French nouns of all kinds to express people, places, things, and ideas.
The best ways to improve your pronunciation
You’re off to an excellent start when you understand the alphabet in the French language and how it’s pronounced. These lettres (letters) combine to form sons (sounds), mots (words), expressions (phrases) and phrases (sentences).
To continue to improve your French pronunciation try:
- listening to French music and singing along
- listening to French stories while reading along
- watching French television and movies
- using pronunciation guides like the International Phonetic Alphabet
- speaking with French tutors from around the world
- attending live lessons to learn French from a native speaker
Rosetta Stone offers tutoring, live lessons, and an all-in-one app with Stories and a phrasebook. Take advantage of the immediate feedback in our TruAccent speech recognition engine that helps improve your accent within every lesson and at every level.