Lesson 1: The Alphabet – French for Succes

Level A1 (Beginner French Course)

1) The French Alphabet

Here are the 26 letters with their French pronunciation (and an English cue).

Letter	Pronunciation (French)	English Equivalent
A	[a] “ah”	as in father
B	[be]	like English B
C	[se] “say”	C letter name
D	[de] “day”	like English D
E	[ø] / [ə] French “uh”	unique French vowel
F	[ɛf]	like English F
G	[ʒe] “zhay”	soft “zh” as in measure
H	[aʃ]	silent in French
I	[i] “ee”	as in see
J	[ʒi]	“zh” as in measure
K	[ka]	like English K
L	[ɛl]	like English L
M	[ɛm]	like English M
N	[ɛn]	like English N
O	[o] “oh”	O letter name
P	[pe]	like English P
Q	[ky] “kew”	Q letter name
R	[ʁ] guttural	throaty French R
S	[ɛs]	like English S
T	[te]	like English T
U	[y] rounded “ee”	no English equivalent
V	[ve]	like English V
W	[dublə ve]	“double V”
X	[iks]	like English X
Y	[iɡʀɛk]	“ee-grek”
Z	[zɛd]	British “zed”

2) Examples A–Z

Letter	French sentence	Phonetic (EN letters)	English
A	Un ami est gentil.	uhn ah-mee eh zhahn-tee	A friend is kind.
B	La banane est jaune.	lah bah-nahn eh zhohn	The banana is yellow.
C	Le chat dort.	luh shah dor	The cat is sleeping.
D	La dame sourit.	lah dahm soo-ree	The lady smiles.
E	L’été est chaud.	lay-tay eh shoh	Summer is hot.
F	La fleur est belle.	lah fluhʀ eh bell	The flower is beautiful.
G	La gare est grande.	lah gahr eh grahnd	The train station is big.
H	L’hôtel est cher.	loh-tel eh shair	The hotel is expensive.
I	L’île est petite.	leel eh puh-teet	The island is small.
J	La jupe est rouge.	lah zhoop eh roozh	The skirt is red.
K	Le kiwi est vert.	luh kee-wee eh vair	The kiwi is green.
L	La lune brille.	lah loon bree	The moon shines.
M	La main écrit.	lah man ay-kree	The hand writes.
N	La neige tombe.	lah nezh tohm	The snow is falling.
O	L’orange est sucrée.	loh-rahnhzh eh soo-kray	The orange is sweet.
P	Papa lit.	pah-pah lee	Dad is reading.
Q	Il a quinze ans.	eel ah kanz ahn	He is fifteen years old.
R	La voiture est rouge.	lah vwah-toor eh roozh	The car is red.
S	Le soleil brille.	luh soh-lay bree	The sun is shining.
T	La table est ronde.	lah tahbl eh rohnd	The table is round.
U	Une pomme est sur la table.	ewn pohm eh syr lah tahbl	An apple is on the table.
V	Le vin est bon.	luh van eh bohn	The wine is good.
W	Le wagon avance.	luh vah-gohn ah-vahns	The wagon is moving.
X	Le xylophone est petit.	luh gzee-loh-fohn eh puh-tee	The xylophone is small.
Y	Le yaourt est froid.	luh yah-oor eh frwah	The yogurt is cold.
Z	Le zèbre court.	luh zebʀ koor	The zebra is running.

3) French Accents

In French, accents are mandatory: they change pronunciation and can also change meaning. Mastering them helps with reading, spelling, exams, and professional emails.

Key rule: If an accent exists in the dictionary, you must write it. Skipping it can create a different word.

a (has) ≠ à (to)   |   ou (or) ≠ où (where)

Accent aigu (´)

Appears only on é. Pronounced like a clear “ay” (as in “say” without the glide).

école → “ay-kol” (school)

Frequent in past participles: mangé, passé, allé.

Accent grave (`)

Occurs on à, è, ù. On è, the sound is open “eh”.

père → “pehr” (father)

à (to) vs a (has) — meaning changes.

Accent circonflexe (ˆ)

On â, ê, î, ô, û. Often marks a lost historical letter (often s).

forêt ← forest   |   hôpital ← hospital

Can change meaning: mur (wall) vs mûr (ripe).

Tréma (¨)

On ë, ï, ü, ö. It forces you to pronounce the vowel separately.

Noël → No-ël (Christmas)

Also in: naïf/naïve, maïs, Haïti.

Cédille (¸)

Only under ç, used before a, o, u. It turns hard “k” into soft “s”.

français → fran-s-ay

Without it, garçon would sound like “garkon”.

4) Spelling in French (Bonus)

In phone calls, admin, and delivery, French speakers spell names and emails by saying each letter with its French sound. Learn the letter names and a few helper words to avoid confusion.

Examples

Victor → V (ve), I (i), C (se), T (te), O (o), R (ʁ)

Paris → P (pe), A (a), R (ʁ), I (i), S (ɛs)

pierre@gmail.com → P, I, E (ø), R (ʁ), R (ʁ), E (ø), arobase, G (ʒe), M (ɛm), A (a), I (i), L (ɛl), point, C (se), O (o), M (ɛm)

Pronunciation tips: French I = [i] (“ee”). French U = [y] (round your lips). H is silent → hôtel = “otɛl”.

On the phone: Some letters sound similar (B/P, D/T, M/N). Use helper words: “B comme Barnabé”, “P comme Paul”, “D comme Daniel”, “T comme Thomas”.

Quick Practice

Add the missing accent: caf__ → café.
Choose the correct word: a / à — “Il ___ Paris demain.” → à.
Explain the tréma: why is it used in Noël? → To separate vowels: pronounced “No-ël”.

5) Recap

Topic	Key point	Example
Alphabet	26 letters with distinct French sounds	R = [ʁ], U = [y], H silent
Accents	é è ê ë ç	français, Noël, forêt
Spelling	Say each letter’s French name clearly	“Paris” → P, A, R, I, S

Typing accents quickly: Mobile: long-press the letter (e → é). Laptop (intl keyboard / dead keys): ‘ then e → é, ` then e → è, ^ then a → â, AltGr+, then c → ç.