Silent letters
Final consonants, the final e, and h.
French spelling keeps many letters it no longer says, above all at the end of words. Knowing which are silent lets you read most words correctly.
Final consonants
Most final consonants are silent.
| Letter | Examples |
|---|---|
| -s | les, très, vous, livres |
| -t | petit, chat, et, tout |
| -d | grand, quand, pied |
| -x | deux, prix, heureux |
| -z | nez, chez, assez |
| -p | trop, beaucoup |
| -g | long, sang |
Four letters are usually said at the end of a word: c, r, f and l, the consonants of careful. avec, sur, neuf, il. The big exception is -er, said é in verbs and many other words: parler, premier, papier. A few words drop a final c or l too: blanc, gentil.
Some words say a final consonant that would normally be silent: sept, huit, net, bus, fils, mars, and six and dix on their own.
The final e
A final e is silent except in short words like le, de and je: table, porte, rouge. It makes the consonant before it heard, and that's often all that tells a feminine from a masculine:
| Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
| petit, "p'tee" | petite, "p'teet" |
| grand, "grahn" | grande, "grahnd" |
| français, "frahn-say" | française, "frahn-sez" |
| vert, "vair" | verte, "vairt" |
Plurals and verb endings
The plural -s is silent, so livre and livres sound the same; only le and les, or un and des, show the number. In verbs, -es, -e and -ent are all silent: je parle, tu parles, il parle and ils parlent sound alike.
h
h is never said: homme, hôtel, heure, thé. Most words starting with h act as if they started with a vowel: l'homme, les hommes with a z. A few, with what's called an aspirated h, don't, though the h is just as silent: le héros, les haricots with no z. Dictionaries mark these words.
Cards from this guide
9 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Getting started cards.
Which final consonants are usually said?
c, r, f and l: the consonants of careful.
Is the plural -s of les livres said?
No; only the article shows it's plural.
How is ils parlent said?
Like il parle: the -ent is silent.
How do you hear that petite is feminine?
The t is said.
Is the final e of table said?
No.
How is sept said?
Like "set": the p is silent and the t is said.
How is six said on its own, and in six livres?
"sees" on its own, "see" before a consonant.
Is the r of parler said?
No: -er at the end of a verb is said é.
Is the h of homme said?
No: French never says h.