The Sound Map
French Grammar 1
Chapter 1 · The Sound & Spelling Map
🔊 The Sound & Spelling Map — La carte des sons
French spelling looks wild: beaucoup, oiseau, ils parlent. But it is more regular than it appears, and in one direction it is largely regular: from spelling to sound. Once you know the patterns below, you can read almost any French word aloud. The other direction (from sound to spelling) is harder, because many spellings share a sound. This course turns the phrases you met in French Basic Conversation 1 and 2 into rules. The rules in later chapters lean on sounds (the feminine of an adjective is often heard in the final consonant, liaison depends on spelling), so this chapter comes first. It is the only chapter in the course with a pronunciation respelling.
The alphabet
The 26 letters are the same as in English; only their names differ. You need them to spell your name on the phone (Comment ça s'écrit ?).
| Letter | Name | Letter | Name | Letter | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | ah | J | zhee | S | ess |
| B | bay | K | kah | T | tay |
| C | say | L | ell | U | ü |
| D | day | M | emm | V | vay |
| E | uh | N | enn | W | doo-bluh-vay |
| F | eff | O | oh | X | eeks |
| G | zhay | P | pay | Y | ee-grek |
| H | ash | Q | kü | Z | zed |
| I | ee | R | air (the throaty French r) | ||
The accents
| Mark | Effect | Example | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| é (acute) | the vowel ay, as in say (without the glide) | café, été | kah-fay, ay-tay |
| è (grave) | the vowel of bed | père, mère | pair, mair |
| ê (circumflex) | the same sound as è; often marks a lost s | forêt (forest), fête | fo-ray, fet |
| ë (diaeresis) | says: pronounce this vowel separately from the one before | Noël | no-ell |
| ç (cedilla) | makes c sound like s before a, o, u | garçon, français | gar-soh(n), frah(n)-say |
| à, ù (grave) | no change of sound; they tell two words apart | là (there) / la (the), où (where) / ou (or) | lah / lah, oo / oo |
| â, î, ô, û (circumflex) | little or no change of sound; often marks a lost s | hôtel, île | oh-tell, eel |
Silent letters
Final consonants are usually silent, and a final -e is silent too. This is the single most important French habit:
| Spelling | What you hear | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| petit, grand, vous, trop, beaucoup | no final consonant | puh-tee, grah(n), voo, troh, boh-koo |
| petite, grande, la table | the consonant before the silent -e is heard | puh-teet, grah(n)d, lah tah-bluh |
| ils parlent, tu parles, je parle | all three sound the same | eel parl, tü parl, zhuh parl |
The nasal vowels
French has three nasal vowels (four in careful speech). A vowel plus n or m at the end of a syllable is nasal: the n or m is not pronounced as a consonant, it only tells you to pass the air through the nose.
| Spelling | Sound | Example | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| an, am, en, em | nasal ah | enfant, chambre | ah(n)-fah(n), shah(n)-bruh |
| on, om | nasal oh | bon, nom | boh(n), noh(n) |
| in, im, ain, ein | nasal a as in man | vin, pain, faim | va(n), pa(n), fa(n) |
| un | often the same as in today | un, lundi | a(n), la(n)-dee |
The main spelling patterns
| Spelling | Sound | Example | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ou, où, oû | oo as in food | vous, rouge | voo, roozh |
| oi, oy | wah | moi, voyage | mwah, vwah-yazh |
| au, eau | oh | beau, chapeau | boh, shah-poh |
| eu, œu | rounded lips, as e in the but tighter | peu, deux, sœur | puh, duh, suhr |
| u | ü: say ee with rounded lips | tu, rue | tü, rü |
| ai, ei | è | mais, neige | may, nezh |
| ch | sh | chat, chanson | shah, shah(n)-soh(n) |
| gn | ny as in canyon | montagne, agneau | moh(n)-tah-nyuh, ah-nyoh |
| ill | y after a vowel, or ee-y after a consonant | fille, famille | fee-y, fah-mee-y |
| qu | k | qui, quatre | kee, kah-truh |
| ph, th | f, t | photo, thé | foh-toh, tay |
| -tion | syoh(n) | nation, attention | nah-syoh(n), ah-tah(n)-syoh(n) |
The consonants that change: c, g, s, x
| Spelling | Sound | Example | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| c before e, i, y | s | ceci, cinéma | suh-see, see-nay-mah |
| c before a, o, u or a consonant | k | café, cours | kah-fay, koor |
| ç | s before a, o, u | garçon | gar-soh(n) |
| g before e, i, y | zh | manger, rouge | mah(n)-zhay, roozh |
| g before a, o, u or a consonant; gu before e, i | hard g | gare, guerre | gar, gair |
| j | zh | je, bonjour | zhuh, boh(n)-zhoor |
| s between two vowels | z | maison, poison | may-zoh(n), pwah-zoh(n) |
| ss | s | poisson | pwah-soh(n) |
| ex- before a vowel | egz | exemple | eg-zah(n)-pluh |
| h | silent | homme, hôtel | om, oh-tell |
The weak e and the French r
The letter e without an accent is a weak, rounded vowel (uh) in short words (le, je, de, ne, me), and it often disappears in fast speech: samedi sounds like sam-dee, je ne sais pas like zh'n'say pah. The French r is made at the back of the throat, close to a gentle gargle; the English r will be understood, but practise the throaty sound with rue (rü), rouge (roozh), merci (mair-see).
Why spelling and sound disagree
French spelling was fixed centuries ago, when more letters were pronounced. Since then the sounds changed but the spelling mostly did not. That has two effects:
| Effect | Example |
|---|---|
| Many spellings, one sound (hard to spell what you hear) | o, au, eau all sound oh; è, ê, ai, ei all sound è |
| Homophones: different words that sound the same | vers, verre, vert, ver (all vair); cent, sans, sang, sent (all sah(n)); où / ou, à / a |
| Silent endings that matter in writing | il parle / ils parlent sound the same, but the written form shows the number |
In later chapters you will see why this matters for grammar: the written -s of a plural, the -e of a feminine adjective, and the -ent of a verb are often invisible to the ear. You must check them on the page.
🗣️ In Use — En situation
Read the exchanges aloud, using the respellings.
① Spelling a name
② Poisson or poison?
③ The cedilla
📋 Quick Reference — Aide-mémoire
| Topic | Summary |
|---|---|
| silent letters | final consonants and final -e usually silent; c, r, f, l often sounded |
| nasal vowels | an / en → ah(n) · on → oh(n) · in / ain / ein → a(n) |
| vowel groups | ou = oo · oi = wah · au / eau = oh · eu = rounded uh · u = ü · ai / ei = è |
| consonant groups | ch = sh · gn = ny · ill = y · qu = k · -tion = syoh(n) |
| c, g | soft before e, i, y (s, zh), hard before a, o, u; ç = s |
| s | z between vowels, s with ss |
| accents | é = ay · è / ê = è · ë = separate · ç = s |
| spelling versus sound | read reliably from spelling; writing from sound needs care |
✏️ Try It Yourself — Exercices
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Read aloud: chanson, jambon, fromage.
Show answer
shah(n)-soh(n), zhah(n)-boh(n), fro-mazh.
2. Read aloud: oiseau, chapeau, beaucoup.
Show answer
wah-zoh, shah-poh, boh-koo. (oi = wah, eau = oh)
3. Which final letters are silent? petit, grand, vous, parlent.
Show answer
All of them: puh-tee, grah(n), voo, parl. (The -ent of the verb is silent.)
4. Is the vowel nasal? bon · bonne · vin · vinaigre.
Show answer
bon: yes · bonne: no · vin: yes · vinaigre: no. (A second n or a following vowel stops the nasalisation.)
5. Say the difference: poisson and poison.
Show answer
pwah-soh(n) (fish, ss = s) and pwah-zoh(n) (poison, single s between vowels = z).
6. Soft or hard? cinéma, café, manger, gare.
Show answer
see-nay-mah (soft c) · kah-fay (hard c) · mah(n)-zhay (soft g) · gar (hard g).
7. Why is there a cedilla in garçon?
Show answer
Because c before o would sound k; the cedilla makes it s: gar-soh(n).
8. Which three common words with ill keep a real l?
Show answer
ville (veel), mille (meel), tranquille (trah(n)-keel).
9. Spell your first name aloud in French letter names, for example ANNA.
Show answer
A-N-N-A: ah, enn, enn, ah.
10. What do these homophones have in common: vers, verre, vert, ver? How can you tell them apart?
Show answer
They all sound the same (vair). Only the spelling and the context tell them apart (towards, glass, green, worm).