Lesson 1 : The French alphabet – Première leçon : L’alphabet français
The French alphabet has the same 26 letters as the English one. But the pronunciation can be very different due to intracies, silent letters, multiple pronunciations for a same letter. In French there is also accent and cedilla. But we will see this part later.
Here is a great tab to help you to strat with the very basics of the French language
French alphabet – alphabet français
In order to teach you the French name of the 26 letters, we have to use the « é » as you know it in the word fiancé and the letter « i » as it is pronunced in French (as in the « e » English, for example in the word victory). Those French names are very important if you have to spell your name in any situation.
| Letter | French name | Pronunciation in French | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A,a | a | A as in English father | Abricot | Apricot |
| B,b | bé | B as in English (but no air expelled) | Banane | Banana |
| C,c | cé | S as in English place | Cerise | Cherry |
| K as in English cat | Colle | Glue | ||
| D,d | dé | D as in English | Dinde | Turkey |
| E,e | euh | E as in English towel | Exemple | Example |
| F,f | èf | F as in English | Fleur | Flower |
| G,g | gé | G as in English Garage | Gazon | Lawn |
| J as in English Garage | Gel | Frost | ||
| H,h | ash | H as in English but always silent | Haricot | Bean |
| I,i | i | I as in English to be | Ile | Island |
| J,j | ji | as in English jungle but don’t pronunce the « d » | Jupe | Skirt |
| K,k | ka | K as in English | Kilomètre | Kilometer |
| L,l | èl | L as in English | Lit | Bed |
| M,m | èm | M as in English | Maison | House |
| N,n | èn | N as in English | Non | No |
| O,o | o | O as in English hole | Os | Bone |
| P,p | pé | P as in English (but no air expelled) | Place | Place |
| Q,q | qu | K as in English cat | Quelques | Some |
| R,r | ère | R pronunce very strongly as J in Spanish | Robe | Dress |
| S,s | èsse | S as in English school | Sucre | Sugar |
| T,t | té | T as in English | Thé | Tea |
| U,u | u | very specific voyel, as in vertu | Un | One |
| V,v | vé | V as in English | Voiture | Car |
| W,w | double Vé | V as in English victory | Wagon (pronunce Vagon) | Wagon |
| X,x | iks | X as in English | Xylophone | Xylophone |
| Y,y | i grec | Y as in English | Yeux | Eyes |
| Z,z | Zed | Z as in English | Zone | Area |