A to Z Pronunciation

A – Sounds like “a” 

(e.g., chat)

B- Sounds like in English “b”.

(e.g., bon)

C- Pronounced as “s”

Ç (C-cédille)- Always sounds as an “s”.

(e.g., français).

D- Sounds like in English “d”, with tongue touching back of your top teeth

(e.g., dire).

E- Pronounced as “u”. At the end of a word, it is completely silent.

(e.g., le).

F- Sounds like in English “f”.

(e.g., femme)

G- Soft “zh” sound (like the s in measure) “g” (like go)

(e.g., gare).

H- Always silent in French. It never makes a sound,(e.g., homme sounds like ohm).

I- Sounds like “ee” in feet

(e.g., ici)

J- Always sounds like “zh” (the s in measure or pleasure)

(e.g., jour)

K- Sounds like in English “k”.

(e.g., kilo)

L- Sounds like in English “l”,

(e.g., lune)

M- Sounds like in English “m”.

(e.g., mère)

N- Sounds like in English “n”.

(e.g., nom)

O- Open “o”

(e.g., rose).

P- Sounds like in English “p”, often unreleased at the end of words

(e.g., père)

Q- Always paired with u (qu-) and sounds like “k”.

(e.g., qui sounds like kee).

R- The famous French “throat R”. It is created from back of the throat, sort of like a clearing of the throat, or gargling a tiny bit of water

(e.g., rouge).

S- Sounds like an “s” (like snake) at the beginning of words or double-s. Sounds like a “z” when trapped between two vowels

(e.g., rose)

T- Sounds like in English “t”, but articulated with the tongue against the teeth versus the gum ridge

(e.g., table).

U- Pucker your lips as if to say the “oo” in boot, but try to say the “ee” in feet at the same time

(e.g., tu).

V- Sounds like in English “v”.

(e.g., vie).

W- Rare in native words, sounds like “v” or “w” depending on the word origin

(e.g., wagon sounds like vah-gohn).

X- Usually sounds like “ks” (like box), but can sound like “gz”, “s”, or be silent at word endings

(e.g., taxi).

Y- Sounds like in French “i” (ee), often acting as a double-i

(e.g., yoga).

Z- Sounds like in English “z”.

(e.g., zéro).