A1 · Alphabet and pronunciation
Consonants: ch, j, qu, r
Familiar letters, a few unfamiliar sounds — and h is always silent.
Most consonants sound as they do in English, but some do not. ch is the “sh” of “shoe”, never the “ch” of “church” (chat, chercher) — English kept the French sound in “chef”. j is the soft sound in the middle of “measure” (je, jour), never the “j” of “jam”. And h is never pronounced: hôtel starts with the “o”, and homme with the vowel.
c and g depend on the vowel after them, much as in English. Before a, o, u they are hard — café, gare —, before e, i, y soft: c becomes “s” (merci), and g becomes the sound of “measure”, not the “j” of “gem” (âge, girafe). A cedilla makes c soft before a, o, u: ça, garçon. A u keeps g hard before e or i: guitare.
Three groups are learnt whole: gn is the “ny” of “canyon” (montagne), qu is a plain “k” with no “w” (qui sounds like “key”, quatre), and ill after a vowel is usually a “y” (fille, travailler; ville and mille are exceptions). A single s between vowels buzzes like the s of “rose” (maison), while ss is sharp (poisson). The French r is made at the back of the throat, close to a light gargle, and it is pronounced even at the end of a word, where many English accents drop theirs: pour, mer.
The form
| as in English | v — vin, vous |
| as in English: “zoo” | z — zéro, douze |
| “sh” as in “shoe” | ch — chat, chercher |
| the sound in “measure” | j, ge, gi — je, âge |
| “s” before e and i, and with a cedilla | ce, ci, ç — merci, ça |
| “ny” as in “canyon” | gn — montagne |
| just “k”, no “w” | qu — qui, quatre |
| usually “y” | ill — fille, travailler |
| never pronounced | h — hôtel, homme |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
v is the English v, as it should be.
Tu veux du vin ?Do you want some wine?
c and g are soft before e and i, hard before a, o and u.
merci, café, âge, garethank you, coffee, age, station
gn sounds like “ny”, qu like “k”.
Qui habite à la montagne ?Who lives in the mountains?
One s between vowels buzzes; ss is sharp.
une maison, un poissona house, a fish
h is always silent.
l’hôtel, un hommethe hotel, a man
How to spot it
- ch
- gn
- qu
- ç
- ill
Example sentences
Le chat cherche le chien.The cat is looking for the dog.
Ma fille travaille à la gare.My daughter works at the station.
Il a douze ans et joue de la guitare.He is twelve and plays the guitar.
Le garçon mange une glace.The boy is eating an ice cream.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
A single s between two vowels buzzes, as in “rose”; only ss is sharp, as in “kiss”. Whole words hang on that difference: poissonis fishpoisonis poison; dessertis puddingdésertis desert English spelling is no guide here, and a careless s will have you ordering poison in a restaurant.
ch is “sh”, j is the sound of “measure”, h is nothing.
Your turn
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