French Alphabet
You can form almost every sound in the French alphabet using the English sounds that you already know.
The French alphabet is the same as the English one but not all letters are pronounced the same way, and some letters can have accents, which change the way they are pronounced.
Resources for further reading:
Below is an audio guide to the pronunciation of the letters of the French alphabet.
How to pronounce the French alphabet
Note that the letters k and w are not commonly used except in regional or loan words. For example; kilogramme, kilomètre
A
aah (like opening your mouth for the dentist)
B
beh
C
say
D
day
E
euh
F
eff
G
jay (like J in English)
H
ash
I
ee
J
jee (similar to G in English)
K
kah
L
el
M
em
N
en
O
oh
P
pay
Q
coo
R
err
S
es
T
tay
U
oo
V
vay
W
dooble vay
X
eex
Y
ee-grayk
Z
zed
French alphabet pronunciation practice
Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record
Rocket Record lets you perfect your French pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!
ananas
pineapple
barre
bar / rod
carte
map
donner
to give
petite
small (fem.)
famille
family
glace
ice / ice cream
hôpital
hospital
image
image
je
I
kilo
kilogram
lunettes
glasses
mère
mother
non
no
odeur
smell
porter
to wear / to carry
qui
who
rouge
red
samedi
Saturday
tu
you
vue
view
vous
you
WC
toilet
Sexe
Sex
les yeux
the eyes
zèbre
zebra
That's probably enough pronunciation practice for now! With these French lessons, remember the more you listen, the more you'll be able to recognize words as they're spoken.
I would recommend learning more about French accents and French numbers next.
À bientôt !
Marie-Claire Rivière and the Rocket French Team
Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement
Reinforce your learning from this lesson with the Rocket Reinforcement activities! These activities are scientifically designed to improve your knowledge and retention of French.