The French alphabet has the same 26 letters as English, but almost every one is pronounced differently — and knowing the French alphabet is the first step to reading, spelling names on the phone, and understanding pronunciation rules. There are also five accent marks that change a letter's sound or meaning but aren't counted as separate letters.
A–H
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| A | ah | Like the 'a' in 'father'. |
| B | bay | Rhymes with 'day'. |
| C | say | Same as English C. |
| D | day | Soft d. |
| E | uh | Short, like the unstressed 'e' in English 'the'. |
| F | eff | Same as English. |
| G | zhay | Soft 'zh' sound, like the s in 'pleasure'. |
| H | ash | Always silent inside French words, but you say 'ash' when reciting the alphabet. |
I–P
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| I | ee | Like the 'ee' in 'see'. |
| J | zhee | Soft 'zh' + 'ee'. Not 'jay'. |
| K | kah | Rare letter in French — mostly in borrowed words. |
| L | ell | Same as English. |
| M | em | Same as English. |
| N | en | Same as English. |
| O | oh | Pure 'o', no glide. |
| P | pay | Rhymes with 'day'. |
Q–Z
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Q | koo | Tight 'oo' — round your lips. |
| R | air | Said with the famous French throaty R. |
| S | ess | Same as English. |
| T | tay | Rhymes with 'day'. |
| U | ew | The hardest French sound — say 'ee' then round your lips without moving your tongue. |
| V | vay | Rhymes with 'day'. |
| W | doo-bluh-vay | Literally 'double V'. Long to say. |
| X | eeks | Same as English X-ray's X. |
| Y | ee-grek | Literally 'Greek i'. |
| Z | zed | British 'zed', not American 'zee'. |
Accent marks (not extra letters)
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| é | e accent aigu | Acute accent — makes a sharp 'ay' sound, as in 'café'. |
| è | e accent grave | Grave accent — opens the e to sound like 'eh', as in 'très'. |
| ê | e accent circonflexe | Circumflex — often marks an old 's' that vanished (forêt = forest). |
| ë | e tréma | Diaeresis — tells you to pronounce the vowel separately, as in 'Noël'. |
| ç | c cédille | Cedilla — makes a c sound like 's' before a, o, u. 'Français'. |
Tips to memorize this list faster
- Practice spelling your own name aloud in French — it's the fastest way to memorize the letter names.
- Vowel letters (a, e, i, o, u) are the ones most likely to trip you up because they don't match English at all.
- Accent marks are mandatory in spelling. 'a' and 'à' are different words; so are 'ou' (or) and 'où' (where).
- The letter H is always silent inside words ('hôtel' sounds like 'oh-tell'), but you still say 'ash' when reciting the alphabet.
Frequently asked questions
How many letters are in the French alphabet?
The French alphabet has 26 letters — the same as the English alphabet. Accented letters like é, è, ê, ç and ë are variants, not extra letters, and don't get counted separately.
How do you pronounce the French alphabet?
Most French letters are pronounced differently from English: A is 'ah', E is 'uh', G is 'zhay', I is 'ee', J is 'zhee', U is a tight 'ew' (round your lips), W is 'doo-bluh-vay', and Y is 'ee-grek'.
What are the 5 French accents?
The five accent marks are the acute (é), grave (è, à, ù), circumflex (ê, â, î, ô, û), diaeresis or tréma (ë, ï, ü), and cedilla (ç). They change pronunciation or meaning but never count as new letters.
Is the H silent in French?
Yes — the letter H is always silent inside French words. Hôtel sounds like 'oh-tell'. But when you recite the alphabet, you still say the letter name 'ash'.
Why does French have accents?
Accents mark pronunciation (é vs è vs ê all sound different) and distinguish otherwise identical words: a (has) vs à (to), ou (or) vs où (where), sur (on) vs sûr (sure).
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