Alphabet and sounds
French uses the same 26 letters as English, but they are named and pronounced differently. You will need this from day one: in the speaking test you may have to spell your name or email, and in listening you must catch names and addresses letter by letter.
French has five accents and signs that change how a letter sounds or is written. They are part of correct spelling, leaving one out is a spelling mistake.
| é : accent aigu | acute accent, as in café |
| è : accent grave | grave accent, as in mère |
| ê : accent circonflexe | circumflex, as in être |
| ç : cédille | cedilla; makes c sound like /s/ (garçon) |
| ë : tréma | diaeresis; two vowels sounded separately (Noël) |
| ' : apostrophe | apostrophe, as in j'ai, l'ami |
| - : trait d'union | hyphen, as in vingt-deux |
Comment s'appelle l'accent dans « café » ?
What is the accent in « café » called?
Associez chaque signe à son nom.
Match each sign to its name.
Complétez : le signe sous le c de « garçon » est une...
Complete: the sign under the c in « garçon » is a...
une ____
A few sounds do not exist in English and trip up beginners. Nasal vowels (on, an, in) come through the nose: bon, blanc, vin. é is closed and sharp (café), è is open (très). And most final consonants are silent: Paris, beaucoup, vous all end in a sound you do not pronounce.
Quel mot contient une voyelle nasale ?
Which word contains a nasal vowel?
Comment prononce-t-on « é » par rapport à « è » ?
How is « é » pronounced compared to « è »?
Dans « Paris », le s final est...
In « Paris », the final s is...
Écoutez et tapez le mot que vous entendez.
Listen and type the word you hear.
Écoutez et tapez la question que vous entendez.
Listen and type the question you hear.
Demandez comment un mot s'écrit.
Ask how a word is spelled.
How do you spell that?
Construisez la question : « How is it spelled? »
Build the question: "How is it spelled?"
0 of 10done. Finish the rest to complete (Try again, or Show answer if you’re stuck).