French Silent Letters - Lawless French Pronunciation


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Lettres muettes

French has a lot of silent letters, which can make pronunciation and spelling exasperating—at least until you learn the rules and patterns to these sneaky non-sounds.

Silent letters can be divided into three groups

E muet
H (aspiré and muet)
Final consonants

Rumor has it that most final consonants are silent, but that tricky word "most" is where the problems start. Students learn the mnemonic CaReFuL to remember the supposedly four consonants which are typically pronounced at the end of a word, while all others are typically silent. However, it’s not quite that simple.

Usually pronounced consonants

There are in fact nine French consonants that are usually pronounced at the end of a word:

Usually pronounced		Exceptional patterns	Some individual exceptions
B	club snob Maghreb		plomb
C	avec flic truc	nasal vowel + c banc blanc	estomac porc tabac
F	adoptif chef œuf		nerf clef œufs
G	grog iceberg	nasal vowel + g – see nasal consonants, below
K	anorak bifteck look
L	avril essentiel il	vowel + -il à l’appareil œil	gentil outil
M	cadmium forum	nasal pronunciation nom parfum
Q	cinq coq
R	cher cœur faillir	suffixes –er and –ier boulanger premier
R	cher cœur faillir	-er verbs assumer sonner

Usually silent consonants

Six consonants are usually silent at the end of a word; however, they may be subject to liaison.

Usually silent		Exceptional patterns	Some individual exceptions
D	canard froid grand	Proper names Alfred David	sud
P	beaucoup drap loup		cap slip
S	je serais temps trois		autobus fils tennis
T	minuit petit poulet	-ct ending direct strict	brut huit ouest
T	minuit petit poulet	-pt ending concept sept	brut huit ouest
X	deux époux prix		Aix index six
Z	chez riz vous copiez		gaz

Many of the exceptions are either proper names or words borrowed from other languages.

Nasal consonants

The letter N and the combination NG are nearly always nasal at the end of a word, meaning that they are not pronounced as consonants, but rather nasalize the vowel that precedes them.

Usually nasal		Exceptions	Notes
N	balcon chaton un	abdomen, amen
NG	long sang	–ing suffix footing riesling	The g at the end of –ing isn’t pronounced [g] but it’s not a simple nasal either – learn more.