French consonant
The letter C has two pronunciations:
1) Soft – In front of a soft vowel, C is pronounced like the S in "say." Phonetic symbol: [s]
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Par exemple… |
| the letter c | |||
| une cerise | cherry | ||
| merci | thank you | ||
2) Hard – In front of a hard vowel or a consonant, C is pronounced like a K. Phonetic symbol: [k]
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Par exemple… |
| le cadeau | gift | |
| le sucre | sugar |
When C precedes a hard vowel but needs a soft pronunciation, ç (cédille) is added to make it soft. That’s why ç is only used in front of the hard vowels A, O, or U, never in front of the soft vowels E, I, or Y.
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Par exemple… |
| ça va ? | how are you? | |
| le reçu | receipt |
Related lessons
- Letter combinations: CH | SC | TCH | XC
- Consonants
- Vowels
- French alphabet
En español
In italiano
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