The French alphabet: all 26 letters and the accent marks, with audio
The French alphabet has the same 26 letters as English, but almost every name sounds different: e is [ə], g is [ʒe], j is [ʒi], r is [ɛʁ], u is [y], w is "double vé" and y is "i grec". Accent marks such as é, è and ç change how a letter sounds without adding letters. Tap a letter to hear it, then say it and get a score.
- The same 26 letters as English, with French names
- g and j swap compared with English: g is "zhé", j is "zhee"
- é, è, ê, à, ç, ë and the other marks are accents, not extra letters
- u is the rounded French [y] — never "you"
Say 5 words with the letters English speakers miss
Free, in your browser. Every word and every sound is scored out of 100, weakest first.
tu
Say "ee", keep the tongue still and round the lips: [ty]. Not "too".
you — the letter u
Tap to record
French alphabet chart with audio
Tap a letter to hear its French name. The table gives each name in IPA, the sound or sounds the letter makes inside words, and an example word you can play.
| Letter | Name — tap to hear | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a[a] | [a]; part of ai, au, an, oi. | amifriend |
| B b | bé[be] | [b] | bonjourhello |
| C c | cé[se] | [k] before a, o, u; [s] before e, i, y. | cafécoffee |
| D d | dé[de] | [d]; silent at the end of most words. | deuxtwo |
| E e | e[ə] | [ə] or silent; [e] or [ɛ] with an accent or before two consonants. | lethe |
| F f | effe[ɛf] | [f] | fleurflower |
| G g | gé[ʒe] | [ɡ] before a, o, u; [ʒ] before e, i, y. | garestation |
| H h | hache[aʃ] | Silent. | hommeman |
| I i | i[i] | [i]; [j] before a vowel. | icihere |
| J j | ji[ʒi] | [ʒ], the s of "measure". | jourday |
| K k | ka[ka] | [k], mostly in loanwords. | kilokilo |
| L l | elle[ɛl] | [l]; ill is often [j]. | livrebook |
| M m | emme[ɛm] | [m]; nasalizes the vowel before it at a syllable end. | mamanmom |
| N n | enne[ɛn] | [n]; nasalizes the vowel before it at a syllable end. | nonno |
| O o | o[o] | [o] or [ɔ]; part of ou, oi, on. | motword |
| P p | pé[pe] | [p], no puff of air. | painbread |
| Q q | cu[ky] | [k]; qu is [k] with no w. | quatrefour |
| R r | erre[ɛʁ] | [ʁ], from the back of the throat. | rougered |
| S s | esse[ɛs] | [s]; [z] between vowels; usually silent at the end. | saluthi |
| T t | té[te] | [t]; usually silent at the end. | tabletable |
| U u | u[y] | [y]: "ee" with rounded lips. | tuyou |
| V v | vé[ve] | [v] | vinwine |
| W w | double vé[dubləve] | [w] or [v], loanwords only. | week-endweekend |
| X x | ixe[iks] | [ks] or [ɡz]; usually silent at the end. | taxitaxi |
| Y y | i grec[iɡʁɛk] | [i] or [j]. | yeuxeyes |
| Z z | zède[zɛd] | [z]; silent in -ez. | zérozero |
French accent marks
French has five accent marks: the acute (é), the grave (è, à, ù), the circumflex (â, ê, î, ô, û), the cedilla (ç) and the tréma (ë, ï, ü). They are part of the spelling — leaving them out is a spelling mistake — but they are not separate letters of the alphabet.
é — accent aigu
Only on e, and always the closed [e] of été.
è, ê — grave and circumflex on e
The open [ɛ] of mère and fête.
à, ù and other circumflexes
à and ù only tell words apart in writing (a/à, ou/où). Circumflexes on a, i, u change little for most speakers; ô is the closed [o].
ç and the tréma (ë, ï)
ç is an s before a, o, u. Two dots mean "say this vowel separately": Noël is no-ël, naïf is na-if.
French vowel spellings: two letters, one sound
Many French vowels are written with two or three letters. Read these groups as one sound, not letter by letter.
Letter groups
| Spelling | IPA | Sounds like (US English) | Examples — tap to hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| ai, ei | /ɛ/ | The e of "bed". | laitmilkneigesnow |
| au, eau | /o/ | The o of "go" without the w-glide. | chaudhotbeaubeautiful |
| ou | /u/ | The "oo" of "food", lips well rounded. Drill it → | vousyourougered |
| oi | /wa/ | "wa". | moimetroisthree |
| eu, œu | /ø/, /œ/ | é or è said with rounded lips. Drill it → | deuxtwosœursister |
| an, en | /ɑ̃/ | A nasal "ah", no n at the end. Drill it → | dansinenfantchild |
| on | /ɔ̃/ | A nasal, rounded "oh". Drill it → | bongoodnomname |
| in, ain, ein | /ɛ̃/ | A nasal a of "cat". Drill it → | vinwinepainbread |
Reading about a sound is not the same as making it. The TonePerfect app gives you a short daily French session built from your own weakest sounds, and scores every take.
How to spell words out loud in French
To give your name or an email address, you spell letter by letter with the French names, and add the accent or the capital after the letter.
"Ça s'écrit comment ?" — How is it spelled?
Answer letter by letter: "Ça s'écrit cé-a-erre-o-elle" (Carol).
Accents after the letter
"e accent aigu" for é, "e accent grave" for è, "e accent circonflexe" for ê, "c cédille" for ç.
Doubles and capitals
"deux l" or "double l" for ll; "majuscule" for a capital letter, "minuscule" for lower case.
Email addresses
The @ is "arobase", the dot is "point", a hyphen is "tiret" and an underscore is "tiret bas".
French alphabet FAQ
How many letters are in the French alphabet?+
Twenty-six — the same letters as English. Accented letters such as é, è, à and ç are not counted as separate letters; the marks are part of spelling.
How do you say the letters of the French alphabet?+
a, bé, cé, dé, e, effe, gé, hache, i, ji, ka, elle, emme, enne, o, pé, cu, erre, esse, té, u, vé, double vé, ixe, i grec, zède. Tap any letter in the chart above to hear it.
Why do g and j sound "backwards" in French?+
The French names follow the sound each letter makes before e and i: g is [ʒe] ("zhé") and j is [ʒi] ("zhee"). To English ears that sounds like the English names swapped, which is why spelling mistakes with g and j are so common.
What are the French accent marks?+
The acute (é), the grave (è, à, ù), the circumflex (â, ê, î, ô, û), the cedilla (ç) and the tréma (ë, ï, ü). é is always the closed [e]; è and ê are the open [ɛ]; ç is an s before a, o, u; the tréma means the vowel is said separately.
How is the French alphabet different from the English one?+
Same 26 letters, different names and different sounds: u is the rounded [y], r is made in the throat, h is silent, and w, k and y appear mainly in borrowed words. French also adds accent marks that change vowel sounds.
Can I check my French pronunciation online for free?+
Yes — the recorder on this page. Say the word, and each word and each sound gets a score out of 100, weakest first. It runs in your browser with no account; the TonePerfect app has the full course.
Keep going
- French pronunciation guide →Every sound with IPA, silent letters, liaison and the 8 mistakes English speakers make.
- French u vs ou: tu and tout →
- How to pronounce the French R →
- French sound chart →All 36 sounds with audio.
- Free French pronunciation test →5 words, a score for each.
- French pronunciation checker →
Practice French pronunciation every day
The app turns this guide into practice: it finds the sounds you miss, drills them in real words and sentences, and scores every take. Free to start on iPhone, Android and the web.
Last reviewed 2026-10-31. Take the free French pronunciation test →