In French, some letters are silent, either at the start or at the end of a word. Here are some rules to look out for:
Understanding silent letters in French
The sounds you make when you read French out loud are sometimes different to âthe ones youâd make in English. â
One of the big differences are the silent letters.â
Take the word duvet. Even English speakers say this word like French speakers. They don't pronounce the 't' at the end - 'duvay'â.
Like le parent - which means - you guessed it - parent. â
The 't' at the end of the word is silent. â
â**'d'** at the end of a word is silent - as in grand,
â**'x'** is usually silent at the end of a word - like deux,
's' is very often silent at the end of a wordâ as in trois or souris,â
and if 'h' is the first letter of a word - it is always silent. â
So: J'habite dans un hĂŽtel Ă Hawaii - I live in a hotel in Hawaii. â
When you see the 't','d','s' or 'x' at the end of the word⊠or 'h' at the start shhhhhhh!â
The silent âhââ
In French, the letter h is silent. Before most words that start with h, if you need a definite âarticle use lâ rather than le or la.â
- łąâhippopotame est heureux - The hippo is happy.â
- łąâhĂŽtel est en Hongrie - The hotel is in Hungary.â
- łąâhomme est trĂšs hŽÇČÔČÔĂȘłÙ±đ - The man is very honest.â
- łąâhippopotame est heureux.
- łąâhĂŽtel est en Hongrie.
- łąâhomme est trĂšs hŽÇČÔČÔĂȘłÙ±đ.
Silent letters at the ends of words
When the following letters are at the very end of a word, they are usually not âpronounced:
n, p, s, t, x, z.
- bon - good â
- beaucoup - a lot
- les parents - parents â
- chat - cat
- ȔùłÙ±đČčłÜx - cakes
- vous mangez - you (plural, formal) eat
- bon
- beaucoup
- les parents
- chat
- ȔùłÙ±đČčłÜx
- vous mangez
Liaisons
When a word ends in s, x, t or n and the next word starts with a vowel or an h, the s and âx will sound like z, and the t and the n will be pronounced. This is called âa âliaisonâ, as the words are linked together.â
- Le_s_ enfants aiment jouer au tennis - The children like playing tennis.â
- Câest trĂš_s_ ennuyeux - Itâs very boring.â
- Ma grand-mĂšre avait deu_x_ enfants - My grandmother had two children.â
- Il es_t_ heureux - He is happy.â
- Il est allĂ© dans un bo_n_ hĂŽtel en Italie - He went to a good hotel in Italy.â
- Les enfants aiment jouer au tennis.â
- Câest trĂšs ennuyeux.
- Ma grand-mĂšre avait deux enfants.
- Il est heureux.
- Il est allĂ© dans un bon hĂŽtel en Italieâ.
Game - FestiLingo: French. game
Visit the festival and practise French language skills in this game
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