Interactive French alphabet chart
Tap a card to hear the letter’s name in French. Tap the speaker to hear an example word.
French accents & special characters
French uses five accent marks. They change how a letter sounds — and sometimes the whole meaning of a word.
Accent aigu
étéOnly on “e”. Gives a sharp, closed “ay” sound, as in été (summer).
Accent grave
pèreOn e, a and u. Opens the e (père), or separates words like à vs a.
Accent circonflexe
forêtOften marks a letter that vanished long ago (an old “s”): forêt was “forest”.
Tréma
NoëlTwo dots tell you to pronounce two vowels separately, as in Noël.
Cédille
garçonUnder the c, it softens it to an “s” sound before a, o, u: garçon.
French sounds you need to know
A few letter combinations are pronounced very differently from English. Here are the essentials.
Chat
CHPronounced like the English “sh” in ship — not “ch” as in chair.
Montagne
GNSounds like the “ny” in canyon.
Loup
OUA single “oo” sound, as in food.
Roi
OIPronounced “wa” — roi (king) sounds like “rwa”.
Paris
RA soft guttural sound made at the back of the throat, not rolled.
Enfant
AN/ON/INThese are nasal vowels — the air passes through the nose.
Tips for learning the French alphabet
Learn names and sounds
A letter’s name and the sound it makes inside a word are often different. Practise both.
Master the accents early
Accents aren’t decoration — they change pronunciation and meaning. Learn them with the letters.
Listen and repeat aloud
Say each letter after the native audio. Spelling your name aloud in French is great practice.
French alphabet — frequently asked questions
How many letters are in the French alphabet?
The French alphabet has 26 letters, exactly the same as the English alphabet. The difference is in pronunciation and in the accents (é, è, ê, ë, ç) added to some letters.
Is the French alphabet the same as the English alphabet?
Yes — both use the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet. However, French pronounces many letters differently and adds five accent marks. Letters like W and K are rare and mostly appear in borrowed words.
How do you pronounce the French R?
The French R is a soft, guttural sound produced at the back of the throat, closer to a light gargle than the English or Spanish rolled R. Listen to words like Paris and Raisin above and repeat.
What are the vowels in French?
French has six vowels: a, e, i, o, u and y. With accents and combinations (ou, oi, eu and the nasal vowels) they produce many more sounds than in English.
How can I practise French pronunciation for free?
Use the interactive chart on this page: click any letter to hear its name, and the speaker button to hear an example word spoken by a native French voice. Then continue with Frenza’s free French basics lessons.
Keep going with real French
Alphabet down? Learn numbers, colours, greetings and real conversations with native audio — free on Frenza.
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