# The Alphabet and Spelling

https://langs123.com/en/french/bases/alphabet-orthographe/
CEFR A0–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> The 26 letters of the French alphabet with their names, the accents and the cedilla written on them, and how to spell a word aloud. An accent is part of the word and sometimes tells two words apart: **ou**, **où**

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 26 letters | six vowels, **a, e, i, o, u, y**, and twenty consonants | **y**aourt / **k**ilo | yoghurt / kilo |
| Letter names | each letter has a name; to spell aloud, you say the names | Comment ça s’écrit ? — **L, E, A**. | How do you spell it? — L, E, A. |
| Accents on e | **é** is said /e/; **è** and **ê** are said /ɛ/ | **é**t**é** / p**è**re | summer / father |
| Cedilla | **ç** is said /s/ before **a**, **o**, **u** | **ç**a va / gar**ç**on | it's going well / boy |
| Grave accent on à and ù | it does not change the sound: it tells two words apart | **Où** es-tu ? / Elle est **là**. | Where are you? / She is there. |
| Circumflex and diaeresis | **ê**, **ô** mark a sound; **ë**, **ï** keep two vowels apart | f**ê**te / No**ë**l | party / Christmas |
| Spelling aloud | you say **deux n** for a double letter and **e accent aigu** for an accent | Léa : L, **e accent aigu**, A. | Léa: L, E acute, A. |
| Œ | **œ** is written as one sign and sounds like **eu** | c**œ**ur / s**œ**ur | heart / sister |
| Trap | the accent and the cedilla are always written: without them the word is wrong | un gar**ç**on / un caf**é** | a boy / a coffee |
| Trap | the circumflex tells **sur** from **sûr** and **mur** from **mûr** | Je suis **sûr**. / Le fruit est **mûr**. | I'm sure. / The fruit is ripe. |

## The alphabet

- The alphabet has 26 letters: six vowels, **a, e, i, o, u, y**, and twenty consonants. **a**mi / **y**aourt (friend / yoghurt)
- The sounds of the letters and letter groups: Pronunciation.
- The letters **k** and **w** are rare: they appear in words borrowed from other languages. **k**ilo / **w**eek-end (kilo / weekend)

| Letter | Name | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| A a | a /a/ | **a**mi | friend |
| B b | bé /be/ | **b**anane | banana |
| C c | cé /se/ | **c**afé | coffee |
| D d | dé /de/ | **d**imanche | Sunday |
| E e | e /ə/ | **e**nfant | child |
| F f | effe /ɛf/ | **f**enêtre | window |
| G g | gé /ʒe/ | **g**are | station |
| H h | hache /aʃ/ | **h**ôtel | hotel |
| I i | i /i/ | **i**ci | here |
| J j | ji /ʒi/ | **j**our | day |
| K k | ka /ka/ | **k**ilo | kilo |
| L l | elle /ɛl/ | **l**ait | milk |
| M m | emme /ɛm/ | **m**aison | house |
| N n | enne /ɛn/ | **n**uit | night |
| O o | o /o/ | **o**range | orange |
| P p | pé /pe/ | **p**ain | bread |
| Q q | qu /ky/ | **q**uatre | four |
| R r | erre /ɛʁ/ | **r**ue | street |
| S s | esse /ɛs/ | **s**oleil | sun |
| T t | té /te/ | **t**able | table |
| U u | u /y/ | **u**tile | useful |
| V v | vé /ve/ | **v**élo | bike |
| W w | double vé /dubləve/ | **w**eek-end | weekend |
| X x | ix /iks/ | ta**x**i | taxi |
| Y y | i grec /igʁɛk/ | **y**aourt | yoghurt |
| Z z | zède /zɛd/ | **z**éro | zero |

## Accents and the cedilla

| Mark | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **accent aigu** ´ | only on **é**, which marks /e/, at the end of a syllable | **é**t**é** / caf**é** | summer / coffee |
| **accent grave** \` | on **è**, which marks /ɛ/ before a consonant and a silent **e**, and in **très** | p**è**re / m**è**re / tr**è**s | father / mother / very |
| **accent grave** \` : **à**, **ù** | it does not change the sound; it tells two words apart: **ou** / **où**, **la** / **là** | **Où** habites-tu ? / Elle est **là**. | Where do you live? / She is there. |
| **accent circonflexe** ^ | on **â**, **ê**, **î**, **ô**, **û**; **ê** marks /ɛ/ and **ô** marks /o/ | f**ê**te / h**ô**tel / **î**le | party / hotel / island |
| **accent circonflexe** ^ : **û** | it also tells apart words that sound the same | Je suis **sûr**. / Le fruit est **mûr**. | I'm sure. / The fruit is ripe. |
| **tréma** ¨ | on **ë**, **ï**: the vowel is said apart from the vowel before it | No**ë**l /nɔɛl/ · ma**ï**s /mais/ | Christmas / corn |
| **tréma** ¨ : **ü**, **ÿ** | rare: they appear mostly in proper names | Sa**ü**l / L’Ha**ÿ**-les-Roses | Saul / L'Haÿ-les-Roses (a town) |
| **cédille** ¸ | only on **ç**, before **a**, **o**, **u**: it marks /s/ | fran**ç**ais / gar**ç**on / **ç**a | French / boy / that |

- Capital letters keep their accents. **É**cole / **À** bientôt ! (School / See you soon!)
- For **a** and **à**, see Être and avoir.

## Spelling a word aloud

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Asking | **Comment ça s’écrit ?** or **Comment s’écrit votre nom ?** | Comment s’écrit votre nom ? — **R, O, U, X**. | How is your surname spelled? — R, O, U, X. |
| Saying the letters | you say the name of each letter, one after the other | Marie : **M, A, R, I, E**. | Marie: M, A, R, I, E. |
| Double letter | you say **deux** + the letter | Annette : A, **deux N**, E, **deux T**, E. | Annette: A, double N, E, double T, E. |
| Accent and cedilla | you say the letter, then the name of the accent: **accent aigu**, **accent grave**, **accent circonflexe**, **tréma**, **cédille** | Léa : L, **e accent aigu**, A. / Garçon : G, A, R, **c cédille**, O, N. | Léa: L, E acute, A. / Garçon: G, A, R, C cedilla, O, N. |
| Hyphen and apostrophe | you say **tiret** for the hyphen and **apostrophe** for the apostrophe | Marie-Anne : M, A, R, I, E, **tiret**, A, deux N, E. | Marie-Anne: M, A, R, I, E, hyphen, A, double N, E. |
| E-mail address | **point** for the dot, **arobase** for @, **tiret du bas** for \_ | lea **point** roux **arobase** mail **point** fr | lea.roux@mail.fr |

## The letters œ and æ

- The **œ** is written as one sign, with the **o** and the **e** joined. c**œ**ur / s**œ**ur / **œ**il (heart / sister / eye)
- It sounds like **eu**: /œ/ before a pronounced consonant, /ø/ otherwise. **œ**uf /œf/ · v**œ**u /vø/ (egg / wish)
- The **æ** is rare: it appears in a few Latin expressions and sounds /e/. et c**æ**tera / ex **æ**quo (and so on / tied (in a ranking))

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| garcon | gar**ç**on | before **a**, **o**, **u**, a **c** without a cedilla sounds /k/; the cedilla gives /s/ |
| cafe | caf**é** | the accent is part of the word: **café** is always written with **é** |
| Ou habites-tu ? | **Où** habites-tu ? | **où** asks about a place; **ou** means “one or the other” |
| Mon pére est là. | Mon p**è**re est là. | before a consonant and a silent **e**, write **è**: **père**, **mère**, **frère** |
| Noel est en décembre. | No**ë**l est en décembre. | the diaeresis shows that **o** and **e** are said separately: **Noël** /nɔɛl/ |
| A bientôt ! | **À** bientôt ! | a capital letter keeps its accent: **À bientôt**, **École** |
| Je suis sur de moi. | Je suis **sûr** de moi. | **sûr** (certain) takes a circumflex; **sur** is the preposition |
| coeur | c**œ**ur | **cœur** is written with the sign **œ**, not with **o** and **e** apart |