adminLike the English alphabet, the French alphabet is composed of 26 letters but of course they are pronounced differently. Below, you can find some tips to help you pronounce each letter. Very useful if you have to spell your name in French.
The vowels A, E, I, O, U when combined with other vowels or with some consonants are pronounced differently.
Use the audio below to help you imitate the pronunciation.
| LETTER | PRONUNCIATION | TIPS | Combination with other letters |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | AH | It is an open vowel so You will need to open your mouth to make it sound more French! | AI |
| AU | |||
| AN/AM (nasal sound) | |||
| B | Bé | It sounds like 'Big' but without pronouncing 'g' | |
| C | Cé | sounds like 'Sick' but without pronouncing 'ck' | |
| D | Dé | sounds like 'Dig' but without pronouncing 'g' | |
| E | UH | Your lips should be well rounded and mid-closed | EI |
| Your tongue is at the front | EU | ||
| EN/EM (nasal sound) | |||
| F | EF | ||
| G | Jé | sounds like the french "j'ai" but less open | |
| H | ASH | ||
| I | EE | Draw the corners of your lips back as if you were going to smile | IN/IM (nasal sound) |
| J | JEE | ||
| K | KAH | Open your mouth ! | |
| L | EHL | ||
| M | EHM | ||
| N | EHN | ||
| O | OH | OI | |
| OU | |||
| ON/OM (nasal sound) | |||
| P | Pé | sounds like 'Pig' but without 'g' | |
| Q | KEW | ||
| R | EHR | The French 'R' is pronounced in the throat. Your tongue should be blocked behind your teeth in order to let the sound comes out. If you cannot keep your tongue down put a spoon on your tongue to avoid it to go up! Be careful of course but try to practice this every day in front of a mirror! Then you must add vowels a-o-i-u | |
| S | ES | ||
| T | Té | sounds like 'Tip' but without 'p' | |
| U | EW | Your lips are well rounded and pushed as far out as you can. | UN/UM (nasal sound) |
| The tip of your tongue is right at the front against the teeth. | |||
| V | Vé | sounds like "Vic" but without "c" | |
| W | DOOBLUHVé | It is a double V (Look at the way it is written W) | |
| X | EEX | ||
| Y | EEGREK | ||
| Z | ZEHD |
Richard
Very good explanation on the alphabet pronunciations! I’ve been doing it wrong all this time… 🙂
Françoise Giordano
Thank you Richard! I’m really glad you like it and that it helps you pronouncing the alphabet a little bit better! 🙂