FRENCH ALPHABET - VOCABULARY TESTING GUIDE
20 cards | 14 sub-topics | all 4 skills tested
INTRODUCTION
In this section, we will study the French alphabet in detail and get our ABC down.
More specifically, we will focus on the French vowels as well as accented letters, and consonants and their true sounds in words (phonics).
There is quite a lot to say about the French language, its history and how its alphabet came to be. There are also specific rules everyone really serious to study the French alphabet should be familiar with. Shortly, you will find on this platform a dedicated course on French phonetics, which I hope will be useful to the intermediate and advanced French language learner.
For now, find below the foundation pillars of the French alphabet.
Ready to start? Partez! (Go)!
1. FRENCH ALPHABET + AUDIO
1.1 Introductory notes
The French alphabet includes 26 letters. These letters are made up of 6 vowels and 20 consonants. Howers, one should also be aware of the various accented letters present in the French alphabet. Don't worry if you have no idea what I have described. Everything is explained below with a pronunciation guide. Enjoy!
1.2 Reading the French Alphabet
ALPHABET [A - B - C]
SOUND [A - B - C]
ALPHABET [D - E - F]
SOUND [D - E - F]
- A-a
- B-b
- C-c
- D-d
- E-e
- F-f
ALPHABET [G - H - I]
SOUND [G - H - I]
ALPHABET [J - K - L]
SOUND [J - K - L]
- G-g
- H-h
- I-i
- J-j
- K-k
- L-l
ALPHABET [M - N - O]
SOUND [M - N - O]
ALPHABET [P - Q - R]
SOUND [P - Q - R]
- M-m
- N-n
- O-o
- P-p
- Q-q
- R-r
ALPHABET
SOUND
ALPHABET [V - W - X]
SOUND [V - W - X]
- S-s
- T-t
- U-u
- V-v
- W-w
- X-x
ALPHABET [Y - Z]
SOUND [Y - Z]
- Y-y
- Z-z
2. FRENCH VOWELS + AUDIO
2.1 Reading the French vowels
VOWEL [A - E - I]
SOUND [A - E - I]
VOWEL [O - U - Y]
SOUND [O - U - Y]
- A-a
- E-e
- I-i
- O-o
- U-u
- Y-y
2.2 Accented French vowels
2.2.1 Accented forms of vowel A-a
ACCENTED VOWEL [A-a]
SOUND
ACCENTED VOWEL [A-a]
SOUND
À-à [A accent grave]
Je viens à dix heures./ I'm coming at 10 o'clock.
Â-â [A accent circonflexe]
Une pâte dentifrice./ Toothpaste.
2.2.2 Accented forms of vowel E-e
ACCENTED VOWEL [E-e]
SOUND
ACCENTED VOWEL [E-e]
SOUND
É-é [E accent aigu]
La télé./ TV.
È-è [E accent grave]
Le père./ Father.
Ê-ê [E accent circonflexe]
La fenêtre./ Window.
Ë-ë [E tréma]
Le canoë/ La Noël./ Canoe/ Christmas.
2.2.3 Accented forms of vowel I-i
ACCENTED VOWEL [I-i]
SOUND
ACCENTED VOWEL [I-i]
SOUND
Î-î
Une île./ An island.
Ï-ï
Je mange du maïs./ I'm eating corn.
2.2.4 Accented forms of vowel O-o
ACCENTED VOWEL [O-o]
SOUND
Ô-ô [O accent circonflexe]
Nous arrivons bientôt./ We're arriving soon.
2.2.5 Accented forms of vowel U-u
ACCENTED VOWEL [U-u]
SOUND
ACCENTED VOWEL [U-u]
SOUND
Û-û
Elle joue de la flûte./ She plays flute.
Ü-ü
Une réponse ambigüe./ An ambiguous answer.
Ù-ù
Où sommes-nous?/ Where are we?
2.2.6 Accented forms of vowel Y-y
ACCENTED VOWEL [Y-y]
SOUND
ACCENTED VOWEL [Y-y]
SOUND
Ÿ-ÿ [Y tréma]
La commune d'Aÿ/ The commune of Aÿ
3. FRENCH CONSONANTS + AUDIO
3.1 Reading the French consonants
CONSONANT
SOUND
CONSONANT [F - G - H]
SOUND [F - G - H]
- B-b
- C-c
- D-d
- F-f
- G-g
- H-h
CONSONANT [J - K - L]
SOUND [J - K - L]
CONSONANT [M - N - P]
SOUND [M - N - P]
- J-j
- K-k
- L-l
- M-m
- N-n
- P-p
CONSONANT [Q - R - S]
SOUND [Q - R - S]
CONSONANT [T - V - W]
SOUND [T - V - W]
- Q-q
- R-r
- S-s
- T-t
- V-v
- W-w
CONSONANT [X - Z]
SOUND [X - Z]
- X-x
- Z-z
3.2 Accented French consonants
CONSONANT [Ç-ç]
SOUND
ACCENTED CONSONANT [Ç-ç]
SOUND
Ç-ç [C cédille]
Je mets un glaçon dans ma boisson/ Put an ice cube in my drink.
3.3 Sounds of French consonants in words
ACCENTED CONSONANT [Ç-ç]
SOUND
ACCENTED CONSONANT [Ç-ç]
SOUND
Bb --> /b/
babine / Lip.
Cc --> /k/ or /s/
cacao / Cocoa | ceci / This
Dd --> /d/
dodo / Beddy-byes.
Ff --> /f/ or /v/
facile / Easy | neuf heures/ 9 o'clock
Gg --> /g/ or /ʒ/
gare/ station| argent/ money, silver
Hh --> usually silent
l'homme/ man| le héros/ heros
Jj --> /ʒ/
joujou / Toy.
Kk --> /k/
kilo/ kilo
Ll --> /l/
lilas / Lilas.
Mm --> /m/
maman/ Mother
Nn --> /n/
nano / Nano.
Pp --> /p/
papa/ Daddy
Qq --> /kw/ or /k/
quoi/ What| qui/ Who
Rr --> /r/
rare/ Rare
Ss --> /s/
sauce/ Sauce
Tt --> /t/ or /s/
total/ Total| démocratie/ democracy
Vv --> /v/
vivant/ Alive
Ww --> /v/ or /w/
wagon/ Wagon| kiwi/ kiwi
Xx --> /ks/ or /gz/
boxe/ Boxing | xylophone/ Xylophone
Zz --> /z/
zèbre/ Zebra
4. LIGATURES IN THE FRENCH ALPHABET
A ligature in French language represents the physical link or connection between 2 or more vowels. There are two ligatures in French. One involves the vowels O and E, and the other A and E.
To briefly explain their origins, let me only say that the <OE> ligature is a replacement of the native French form <eu/ue> used centuries ago in Old French for words such as [beuf/buef] --> now /bœuf/ (cow). Some loaned Greek words have also kept the ligature in French [œsophage] and [œdipe]
Likewise the <AE> ligature is used in words of Latin origins, for example, [tænia] (tapeworm)
4.1 Ligature with [OE]
LIGATURE [OE]
SOUND [OE]
œ [e dans l'o]
bœuf./ Cow | sœur./ Sister .
4.2 Ligature with [AE]
LIGATURE [AE]
SOUND [AE]
æ [e dans l'a]
tænia./ Tapeworm | ex æquo./Tie .
Bonjour there! You have now reached the end, or have you? Well, although this vocabulary lesson teaches you very important tips on how to read and pronounce French vowels and consonants, there are still two other crucial parts I have not touched here yet: vowel-vowel and vowel-consonant sound combinations in French. We'll be working on making another lesson about these topics. In the meantime, enjoy!