---
date: '2026-06-17'
description: spelling-to-sound rules, alphabet, and pronunciation hints for french
id: orthography-phonetics
modified: 2026-06-17 20:24:43 GMT-04:00
tags:
  - fr
  - language
  - learning
title: orthography and phonetics
created: '2026-06-17'
published: '2026-06-17'
pageLayout: default
slug: fr/orthography-phonetics
permalink: https://aarnphm.xyz/fr/orthography-phonetics.md
generator:
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  baseUrl: aarnphm.xyz
full: https://aarnphm.xyz/llms-full.txt
---
reading aloud, with the spelling treated as a set of cues rather than a phonetic transcript. variety assumed throughout is standard contemporary french; regional mergers are flagged where they change the mapping. the paired deck lives in [[fr/orthography-phonetics.fc|orthography-phonetics.fc]].

the IPA column is the target. the rough-english column is a memory handle only, and it lies in the places french has no english analogue, mainly `u` /y/ and `r` /ʁ/.

## alphabet

26 base latin letters, same set as english. accented forms (`é è ê ë à â î ï ô ù û ü ÿ ç`) are modified spellings, not separate letters.

| letter | name        | sound      | rough english      |
| ------ | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------ |
| a      | `a`         | /a/        | ah                 |
| b      | `bé`        | /be/       | beh                |
| c      | `cé`        | /se/       | seh                |
| d      | `dé`        | /de/       | deh                |
| e      | `e`         | /ø/ or /ə/ | uh                 |
| f      | `effe`      | /ɛf/       | eff                |
| g      | `gé`        | /ʒe/       | zheh               |
| h      | `ache`      | /aʃ/       | ahsh               |
| i      | `i`         | /i/        | ee                 |
| j      | `ji`        | /ʒi/       | zhee               |
| k      | `ka`        | /ka/       | kah                |
| l      | `elle`      | /ɛl/       | ell                |
| m      | `emme`      | /ɛm/       | em                 |
| n      | `enne`      | /ɛn/       | en                 |
| o      | `o`         | /o/        | oh                 |
| p      | `pé`        | /pe/       | peh                |
| q      | `ku`        | /ky/       | koo                |
| r      | `erre`      | /ɛʁ/       | air                |
| s      | `esse`      | /ɛs/       | ess                |
| t      | `té`        | /te/       | teh                |
| u      | `u`         | /y/        | (no english match) |
| v      | `vé`        | /ve/       | veh                |
| w      | `double vé` | /dublə ve/ | doo-blah-veh       |
| x      | `ixe`       | /iks/      | eeks               |
| y      | `i grec`    | /i gʁɛk/   | ee-grek            |
| z      | `zède`      | /zɛd/      | zed                |

vowel letters are `a e i o u` and sometimes `y`.

## accents and diacritics

written accents mark vowel quality, spelling history, or homograph distinctions. they do not mark stress.

- acute `é` is closed /e/: `été` /ete/.
- grave `è` and circumflex `ê` are open /ɛ/: `père` /pɛʁ/, `tête` /tɛt/.
- circumflex `â` no longer carries a stable separate sound for most speakers; a few keep /ɑ/ in a handful of words.
- diaeresis (`ë ï ü`) forces the marked vowel to be read separately: `Noël` /nɔɛl/, `naïf` /naif/.
- cedilla `ç` keeps `c` soft (/s/) before `a o u`: `ça` /sa/, `garçon` /gaʁsɔ̃/.

## vowel spellings

| spelling                      | sound | example                     |
| ----------------------------- | ----- | --------------------------- |
| `u`                           | /y/   | `tu` /ty/                   |
| `ou`                          | /u/   | `vous` /vu/                 |
| `au`, `eau`                   | /o/   | `chaud` /ʃo/, `eau` /o/     |
| `oi`                          | /wa/  | `moi` /mwa/, `trois` /tʁwa/ |
| `ui`                          | /ɥi/  | `huit` /ɥit/, `lui` /lɥi/   |
| `ai`, `ei`                    | /ɛ/   | `lait` /lɛ/, `reine` /ʁɛn/  |
| `eu`, `œu` (open syllable)    | /ø/   | `peu` /pø/, `deux` /dø/     |
| `eu`, `œu` (before consonant) | /œ/   | `peur` /pœʁ/, `sœur` /sœʁ/  |

the `u`/`ou` pair is the high-value minimal pair: `tu` /ty/ vs `tout` /tu/ differ only by front-rounded /y/ against back-rounded /u/.

open vs closed alternates with the syllable for `e` and `o` too. `o` is /o/ in an open syllable (`mot` /mo/) and /ɔ/ before a pronounced consonant (`porte` /pɔʁt/); `é` /e/ vs `è` /ɛ/ runs the same contrast (`été` vs `père`).

## nasal vowels

a vowel followed by `n` or `m` nasalizes when the nasal is word-final or stands before another consonant. it stops nasalizing before a following vowel or when the nasal is doubled: `bon` /bɔ̃/ but `bonne` /bɔn/, `temps` /tɑ̃/ but `année` /ane/. spelling writes `m` rather than `n` before `b p m` (`temps`, `simple`, `tomber`).

| spelling           | sound | example                                     |
| ------------------ | ----- | ------------------------------------------- |
| `an am en em`      | /ɑ̃/  | `sans` /sɑ̃/, `temps` /tɑ̃/                 |
| `on om`            | /ɔ̃/  | `bon` /bɔ̃/, `nom` /nɔ̃/                    |
| `in ain ein im ym` | /ɛ̃/  | `vin` /vɛ̃/, `pain` /pɛ̃/, `simple` /sɛ̃pl/ |
| `un um`            | /œ̃/  | many speakers in france merge to /ɛ̃/       |
| `ien`              | /jɛ̃/ | `bien` /bjɛ̃/                               |
| `oin`              | /wɛ̃/ | `loin` /lwɛ̃/                               |

## consonants

| spelling                       | sound              | example                                                               |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `c` before `e i y`             | /s/                | `ce` /sə/, `cinq` /sɛ̃k/                                              |
| `c` before `a o u` / consonant | /k/                | `car` /kaʁ/, `cou` /ku/                                               |
| `g` before `e i y`             | /ʒ/                | `geste` /ʒɛst/                                                        |
| `g` before `a o u` / consonant | /g/                | `gare` /gaʁ/, `goût` /gu/                                             |
| `gu` before `e i`              | /g/                | `guerre` /gɛʁ/, `guide` /gid/                                         |
| `ge` before `a o`              | /ʒ/                | `mangeons` /mɑ̃ʒɔ̃/                                                   |
| `ch`                           | /ʃ/                | `chat` /ʃa/                                                           |
| `ph`                           | /f/                | `photo` /foto/                                                        |
| `th`                           | /t/                | `thé` /te/                                                            |
| `qu`                           | /k/                | `qui` /ki/, `quatre` /katʁ/                                           |
| `j`                            | /ʒ/                | `jour` /ʒuʁ/                                                          |
| `s` between vowels             | /z/                | `maison` /mɛzɔ̃/                                                      |
| `ss` between vowels            | /s/                | `poisson` /pwasɔ̃/                                                    |
| `x`                            | /ks/, /gz/, /z/, ∅ | `taxi`, `examen` /ɛgzamɛ̃/, liaison `dix ans`, final silent in `deux` |
| `gn`                           | /ɲ/                | `montagne` /mɔ̃taɲ/                                                   |
| `-il`, `-ill` after vowel      | /j/                | `travail` /tʁavaj/, `soleil` /sɔlɛj/                                  |
| `ill` after consonant          | /ij/               | `fille` /fij/, `famille` /famij/                                      |
| `-tion`                        | /sjɔ̃/             | `nation` /nasjɔ̃/                                                     |
| `-sion` after vowel            | /zjɔ̃/             | `vision` /vizjɔ̃/                                                     |
| `r`                            | /ʁ/                | `rouge` /ʁuʒ/                                                         |

`ill` exceptions read /il/, not /ij/: `ville` /vil/, `mille` /mil/, `tranquille` /tʁɑ̃kil/.

the semivowels are /j/, /w/, /ɥ/: `fille` /fij/, `oui` /wi/, `lui` /lɥi/.

## silent letters

most final consonants are silent: `grand` /gʁɑ̃/, `petit` /pəti/, `deux` /dø/. the working heuristic is that final `c r f l` are often pronounced (the word “careful” as a mnemonic), with many lexical exceptions. final `-s` and `-x` are plural markers and stay silent unless liaison surfaces them.

final written `e` is usually silent but pulls the preceding consonant into pronunciation: `petit` /pəti/ vs `petite` /pətit/, `grand` /gʁɑ̃/ vs `grande` /gʁɑ̃d/. schwa /ə/, written mostly as `e`, drops in casual speech whenever the surviving consonant cluster is still sayable.

the third-person plural verb ending `-ent` is the standard trap: silent in verbs, so `ils parlent` is /il paʁl/, not /il paʁlɑ̃/.

## word boundaries

- **liaison**: a normally silent final consonant surfaces before a following vowel inside a tight word group. `-s -x -z` surface as /z/ (`les amis` /lez‿ami/, `deux ans` /døz‿ɑ̃/); `-d` surfaces as /t/ (`grand homme` /gʁɑ̃t‿ɔm/).
- **enchaînement**: an already-pronounced final consonant resyllabifies onto the next vowel. `avec elle` runs as /a.vɛ.kɛl/.
- **elision**: a short vowel drops before a vowel sound. `le ami` becomes `l'ami`.

> \[!note\] h muet vs h aspiré
>
> both are silent, but they behave oppositely at boundaries. `h muet` allows elision and liaison (`l'homme`, `les hommes` /lez‿ɔm/); `h aspiré` blocks both (`le héros`, `les héros`, no elision, no liaison). which is which is lexical and has to be learned per word.

## stress

french has no lexical stress on individual words. prominence falls on the final pronounced syllable of a rhythmic group. this is why written accents marking nothing about stress confuses readers coming from english or spanish.

`est` (the verb `être`) is /ɛ/, final `st` silent. `et` is /e/ and normally refuses liaison, which keeps it audibly distinct from `est`.

the payoff of all the silent letters: french spelling encodes morphology, liaison potential, and vowel quality rather than a one-to-one sound map. a letter that says nothing in isolation often says something the moment a suffix or a following vowel arrives.