The French Alphabet

A ah like the a in cat
B bay
C say
D day
E uh like the u in fur
F ef like the English
G zhay the sound is like the soft j in measure
H ash
I ee like the i in machine
J zhee the sound is like the soft j in measure
K kah like the ca in cat
L el like the English
M em like the English
N en like the English
O oh like the o in soft
P pay
Q koo
R air
S ess like the English
T tay
U There is no English equivalent to the u sound.
Round you lips as if to say "O" and try to say "eee"
V vay
W doo-bla vay
X eeks
Y ee grek
Z zed

Song
A, B, C, D, E, F, G H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P,
Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Voilà l'alphabet français, Voilà l'alphabet français !


The alphabet

You may well have to spell out your name and perhaps your address in French. Here is the alphabet and the way it is pronounced:

Letters that end in an -ee sound in English end in an -ay sound in French:

b c d p t v

Letters that start with an 'e' sound, like English 's', are virtually identical in French:

f l m n s

The vowels are short sounds:

a e i o u

For g and j swap the English pronunciation around:

j g

The remaining letters are:

h - pronounced ash
k - pronounced like the ca in cat
q - pronounced coo
r - pronounced air
w - pronounced doo-bla vay
x - pronounced eeks
y - pronounced ee grec
z - pronounced zed

When giving an email or website address the conventions are:

@ arobase
. point
/ oblique

So:

un.abonné@enterprise.fr
www.bbc.co.uk