I can say any letter of the French alphabet by its French name, write down a word, first name, or last name spelled out to me, and understand what each mark does: é, è, ê, ç, and ï.
A letter's name is not its sound
26 letters, seven vowel sounds, and five marks
The 26 letters are those of English. Their names are for spelling out: in France you spell your last name, street, and email aloud, and the first task in the writing part of the A1 exam is a form.
The names use seven vowel sounds: [a] — a, ka, hache; [e] — bé, cé, dé, gé, pé, té, vé; [ɛ] — effe, elle, emme, enne, erre, esse, zède; [i] — i, ji, ixe, i grec; [y] — u u and q ku; [o] — o; [ə] — e e. Double vé adds an eighth, [u]. Learn them and you know the alphabet. Note: gé is G and ji is J — they sound like English J and G.
The five marks. é — accent aigu (acute accent): closed [e], “ay” with no glide. è — accent grave (grave accent) and ê — accent circonflexe (circumflex): open [ɛ], as in “bet”. ç — cédille (cedilla): [s] where c would sound [k]. ï — tréma (two dots): read the vowel on its own. An apostrophe marks a dropped vowel.
No French keyboard? Type without marks and oe for œ: it's accepted, but learn the spelling with marks that the answer shows. “lami” passes; a space for the apostrophe is a mistake.
Names take a capital (Léa, Martin); languages don't (le français).
Common mistakes:
• NOT [ˈkafe] — in le café the voice moves to the end: [kafe].
• NOT [tʁe] — in très the mark opens the sound: [tʁɛ].
• NOT [ləkɔ̃] with [k] — ç is always [s]: la leçon [ləsɔ̃].
• NOT “le école” — before a vowel, le loses its e: l'école.
The five marks and the apostrophe
When you spell a word out, you say each mark's name.
| Mark | What you call it when spelling | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| é | accent aigu | closed [e] | le café |
| è | accent grave | open [ɛ] | très |
| ê | accent circonflexe | open [ɛ] | la forêt |
| ç | cédille | [s] instead of [k] | la leçon |
| ï | tréma | read it apart from the vowel next to it | Noël (Christmas) |
| ' | apostrophe | a vowel dropped out | l'ami |
Lesson notes
26 letters, seven vowel sounds, and five marks
The 26 letters are those of English. Their names are for spelling out: in France you spell your last name, street, and email aloud, and the first task in the writing part of the A1 exam is a form.
The names use seven vowel sounds: [a] — a, ka, hache; [e] — bé, cé, dé, gé, pé, té, vé; [ɛ] — effe, elle, emme, enne, erre, esse, zède; [i] — i, ji, ixe, i grec; [y] — u u and q ku; [o] — o; [ə] — e e. Double vé adds an eighth, [u]. Learn them and you know the alphabet. Note: gé is G and ji is J — they sound like English J and G.
The five marks. é — accent aigu (acute accent): closed [e], “ay” with no glide. è — accent grave (grave accent) and ê — accent circonflexe (circumflex): open [ɛ], as in “bet”. ç — cédille (cedilla): [s] where c would sound [k]. ï — tréma (two dots): read the vowel on its own. An apostrophe marks a dropped vowel.
No French keyboard? Type without marks and oe for œ: it's accepted, but learn the spelling with marks that the answer shows. “lami” passes; a space for the apostrophe is a mistake.
Names take a capital (Léa, Martin); languages don't (le français).
Common mistakes:
• NOT [ˈkafe] — in le café the voice moves to the end: [kafe].
• NOT [tʁe] — in très the mark opens the sound: [tʁɛ].
• NOT [ləkɔ̃] with [k] — ç is always [s]: la leçon [ləsɔ̃].
• NOT “le école” — before a vowel, le loses its e: l'école.