L’Alphabet: How To Pronounce The French Alphabet

If learning French is still on your to-do list, get ready to cross it off because you will begin your study of the language today. Before we start learning basic French conjugations, phrases and numbers, it is important that you learn the French alphabet or L’alphabet.

Learning the French alphabet is an essential starting point for being familiar with the various French letter sounds. For a more fun way of learning, you may even learn the French alphabet through music!

French Alphabet Rules & Tips

The French alphabet is based on Latin script and consists of 26 letters: 6 vowels and 20 consonants. There are also two ligatures, "œ" and "ae," commonly spelled now as "oe" and "ae."

• French vowels are referred to as "le," never with "l’": le a, le e, le i, le o, le u, le y (i grec).
• Uppercase is called une majuscule; lowercase is une minuscule.
• Gg is pronounced as gé (like the 'ge' in "gender").
• Jj is pronounced as a soft ji (like the 'ji' in "jinx").
• Kk and Ww are rarely used except in regional or loanwords.
• Ee is pronounced as euh (like "ew" without the 'w').
• Ii is a long ee sound (like in "bee" or "knee").

Diacritics (Accents)

Diacritics do not change the primary alphabetical order. There are four vowel diacritics and one for the letter 'c':

• Acute accent (accent aigu): Éé
• Grave accent (accent grave): Àà, Èè, Ùù
• Circumflex (accent circonflexe): Ââ, Êê, Îî, Ôô, Ûû
• Diaeresis (tréma): Ëë, Ïï, Üü, Ÿÿ
• Cedilla (cédille): Çç