French Alphabet & Sounds

Getting Started — The French Alphabet

French also has 26 letters, just like English. But the sounds are different. If you learn the correct pronunciation from the start, you’ll have a big advantage when it comes to speaking in TEF/TCF exams later.

A bridge from Punjabi and Hindi: Punjabi (ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ) and Hindi (देवनागरी) are written almost the way they sound, and French is not: one sound can need two or three letters, and some letters are silent. So learn sound groups (ou, oi, eau, ch…), not single letters. The good news is that the groups are few and regular.

Vowels — a, e, i, o, u

French vowels are clear and short:

Letter	Sound	French Example
a	ah	la (the)
e	uh or eh	le (the)
i	ee	ici (here)
o	oh	mot (word)
u	(round lips, tongue at ‘ee’ position)	tu (you)

Note: French u is not like English or Punjabi ‘oo’. Round your lips but position your tongue as if saying ‘ee’.

Key to the respellings: two signs on this site are deliberately unlike ordinary Punjabi, because Punjabi has no such sound. ਅ਼ is a rounded ‘e’ (deux ਦਅ਼, neuf ਨਅ਼ਫ਼); do not read it as ‘o’, or deux would turn into dos (back). ਜ਼ is the soft, buzzing sound of je, jour, manger (the ‘s’ of English measure), not a hard ‘j’.

Tricky Sounds That Challenge Learners

1. Nasal vowels

• on → like bon (good)
• an / en → like grand (big)
• in → like vin (wine)

These sounds come from the nose. Punjabi and Hindi have nasal sounds too (ਹਾਂ, हाँ), so this shouldn’t be too difficult for you.

2. French ‘r’

French r comes from the back of the throat — not from the tongue like in English or Punjabi ਰ. Examples: Paris, merci.

3. Silent letters

Many word endings are not pronounced:

• petit → “puh-tee” (‘t’ is silent)
• vous → “voo” (‘s’ is silent)

But four final consonants are often pronounced: c, r, f, l. To remember them, think of the English word CaReFuL: in avec, bonjour, neuf and animal you hear the last sound. The biggest exception is the -er verbs, where the ‘r’ is silent: parler → “par-lay”.

Letter Names — Spelling Your Name

This is the most useful part and the one people skip. On the phone, at a clinic or at the bank in Canada you will be asked again and again: Vous pouvez épeler votre nom ? (“Can you spell your name?”).

Letter	Name	Letter	Name
A	ah	N	en
B	bay	O	oh
C	say	P	pay
D	day	Q	k + rounded ‘ee’ (ku)
E	uh	R	air (back of the throat)
F	eff	S	ess
G	zhay	T	tay
H	ash	U	rounded ‘ee’ (not ‘oo’)
I	ee	V	vay
J	zhee	W	doo-bluh-vay
K	kah	X	eeks
L	el	Y	ee-grek
M	em	Z	zed

Three details need attention, because they run against English:

• G and J look reversed: French G is “zhay” and J is “zhee”. Both start with the same soft buzzing “zh” (the ‘s’ of measure), not a hard Punjabi ਜ: you hear it in je, jour, manger.
• E and I — French I is “ee”, which sounds like the English E.
• Y is called “ee-grek” (i grec, “Greek i”).

For a repeated letter say double: Preet = P, R, E, double E, T, but Gill = G, I, double L.

Spelling an email address: @ = arobase, . = point, - = tiret. harpreet point gill arobase exemple point ca is [email protected].

Accent Marks

The five French accent marks are not decoration: they change either the sound or the meaning.

• é (accent aigu) — a closed “ay”: été, café.
• è / ê (accent grave / circonflexe) — an open “eh”: père, tête. The ê often shows that an ‘s’ used to follow: forêt = forest, hôpital = hospital. This trick helps you guess unfamiliar words.
• ç (cédille) — makes ‘c’ an “s” where it would have been a “k”: français, ça.
• ë / ï (tréma) — says the two vowels are pronounced separately: Noël = “no-el”.

Sometimes only the mark changes the meaning: a (has) versus à (to, at), ou (or) versus où (where). These count in exam writing. The full guide is in the accents lesson.

Two Letters, One Sound

French looks hard to read because many sounds are spelled with two or three letters. These five are the most common, and knowing them lets you read most words at first sight:

Spelling	Sound	Example
ou	oo	vous, bonjour
oi	wa	moi, trois
au / eau	oh	aussi, beau
ai / ei	eh	maison, neige
eu / œu	(lips rounded, tongue at ‘e’)	deux, sœur

The most common mistake is oi: moi is not “moy”, it is “mwa”. And ch is “sh” in French, not “ch”: chat = “sha”.

Words Join Together (Liaison)

To beginners, spoken French sounds like one long chain, and the reason is liaison. A final consonant that is normally silent is pronounced when the next word starts with a vowel:

• vous + avez → “voo-zavay”
• les + amis → “lay-zamee”
• un + homme → “an-nom”

That is why the words you see written and the words you hear sound different. The full rule is in the liaison and elision lesson.

Practice

Say these words aloud: bonjour, merci, oui, non, un, une, tu, vous.

A. Which spelling? Write the missing letters

B. Which linking sound? Write z, n or t

Show answers

A. 1. oi · 2. ou · 3. eau · 4. ai · 5. ch · 6. in · 7. eu · 8. on

B. 1. z · 2. z · 3. n · 4. z · 5. t · 6. z · 7. z · 8. n

Then say these three pairs aloud and try to hear the difference — these three differences weigh the most in the exam listening:

• tu / tout (a rounded ‘ee’ versus a plain ‘oo’)
• vin / vent (two different nasal sounds)
• dessus / dessous (above versus below — the meaning is opposite)

Your Turn

Task (TEF/TCF Expression Orale, Section A): a clinic receptionist asks you to spell your surname, your first name and your email address. Say all three out loud with French letter names. Use double once and the words arobase and point.

Show a model answer

— Vous pouvez épeler votre nom ? — Oui. Mon nom de famille, c’est Gill : G, I, double L. Mon prénom, c’est Harpreet : H, A, R, P, R, E, double E, T. Et mon courriel : harpreet point gill arobase exemple point ca.

What to check: G said “zhay” (not “jee”), I said “ee”, double L and double E, H said “ash”, and arobase and point for the email.

What’s Next

• Everyday Greetings and Phrasesthe first conversation.
• Minimal pairs practicehear two similar sounds and tell them apart.
• The full pronunciation guide