French alphabet
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The French alphabet is the alphabet used to write French. It uses the modern Latin alphabet with its 26 letters to which must be added the letters from five diacritics, which then enrich it with thirteen accentuated vowels and the grapheme c cedilla "ç", as well as two ligatures e in the a " æ Æ "and e in the o" œ Œ ". It is therefore a total of 42 letters that make up the French alphabet.
In this chapter, you will get an overview about the French alphabet, the look and the differences between them
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Capital letters | Small letters | Examples |
---|---|---|
A | a | Annie, acheter |
B | b | Boris, belle |
C | c | Cloé, cloue |
D | d | David, déménager |
E | e | Elliot, emeraude |
F | f | France, faillite |
G | g | Gérard, garantir |
H | h | Hélène, hache |
I | i | Irma, idiot |
J | j | Jacques, jouer |
K | k | Koweit, kérastase |
L | l | Lionel, lance |
M | m | Mona, moule |
N | n | Nathalie, nappe |
O | o | Omari, oublier |
P | p | Pascal, pierre |
Q | q | Quentin, quille |
R | r | Rosalie, roue |
S | s | Sylvia, scier |
T | t | Théo, tatouage |
U | u | Ursula, unité |
V | v | Victor, voyage |
W | w | William, wagon |
X | x | Xavier, xénophobe |
Y | y | Yoan, yoyo |
Z | z | Zoé, zèbre |
There are 6 vowels in French: a, e, y, o, u, i
These letters are variant of the fundamental alphabet and can be taken from the Latin language.
Capital letters | Small letters | Examples |
---|---|---|
À | à | voilà |
 | â | Bâtir |
Ç | ç | garçon |
É | é | éphémère |
Ê | ê | Tête |
È | è | élève |
Ë | ë | Canoë |
Î | î | Accroître |
Ï | ï | Caïman |
Ô | ô | Hôtel |
Ü | ü | Capharnaüm |
Û | û | Bûche |
Ù | ù | où |
In French, only the vowels a, e, u can take a grave accent. The French grave accent is (`) and the vowels which take it are:
Alphabet | Examples | Translation |
---|---|---|
à | Je vais à Paris | (I am going to Paris) |
è | La lèpre | (Leprosy) |
ù | Où vas tu ? | (Where are you going) |
With the vowels a and u, the accent does not modify the pronunciation but is only used for the homonym. and ù is also the interrogative or relative pronoun used to differentiate it from the coordinating conjunction.
With the vowel e, the accent indicates the pronunciation of an open e
The "e" grave accent appears in a word ending in "s".
In French, the letters a, e, i, o, u can take this accent and is written (ˆ) and it indicates
Generally, you use it to "open" the vowel,
Alphabet | Examples | Translation |
---|---|---|
â | Pâques | (Easter) |
ê | Fenêtre | (Window) |
î | Epître | (Epistle) |
ô | Hôpital | (Hospital) |
û | Piqûre | (Sting) |
The circumflex accent is sometimes used to signal a missing letter
Since 1990, the circumflex accent is barely used on the i and u: you use it on conjugated verbs in the past simple, subjunctive imperfect and the pluperfect
In French, you can find an acute accent (ˊ) on the vowel e used to distinguish the phoneme with the closed tone /e/ from the phoneme /ə/.
You can meet it exceptionally on:
The ç changes the pronunciation of the alphabet letter c. You can put it in front of letters like: a, o, u.
Alphabet | Example | Translation |
---|---|---|
a | Façade | (Frontage) |
o | leçon | (Lesson) |
u | Reçu | (Receipt) |
The umlet are the two points that you put on the e, i, u to indicate that the preceding vowel must be pronounced separately.
The usage of ë, ü is rather rare in French and is only found in two categories of words. It is found in certain words where the umlaut indicates that:
Alphabet | Examples | Translation |
---|---|---|
e | Noël | (Christmas) |
i | Maïs | (Corn) |
u | Ambigüe | (Ambiguous) |
Learn about the pronunciation of all these letters of the French alphabet in the following page !
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I’m French, currently living in the Netherlands.
I lived in Paris for almost twenty years, and I know very well my country (and of course my language, French, my mother tongue). I taught French for two years in Spain, conversation class about culture essentially.
In Paris, I was Spanish teacher, I have the Agregation degree which is the highest degree for teaching in France, I'm bilingual. I've participated too in several editorial projects about Spanish teaching and DELE preparation.
I have a Spanish Studies Master and I'm currently doing a research about the Spanish and Sefardi Judaism.
I have a French as foreign language and a Religious Studies Masters too.
I enjoy sharing what I know. I’m a very eclectic person and curious about everything. To give you an idea, my interest (and sometimes hobbies) are: philosophy, spirituality and religions in general, meditation, psychology and psychoanalysis, history, geography, literature, writing (in particular creative writing, and I’m used to write everyday), art (painting, photography), sciences (vulgarisation level) and cultural matters in general. I travel a lot (as a backpacker), sometimes by foot, and the places I know well are France, the Netherlands, Italy and Serbia.
One of my qualities is my capacity of adaptation, I enjoy preparing documents to help the student to acquire autonomy, but I love speaking too, and it’s the best way to learn a language.
I'm waiting for your message, please when contact me, explain quickly who you are, why you want to study French and what you are looking for exactly.
See you soon.
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Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
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I have worked as a French teacher for more than ten years.
I have academic studies in English and French from Montréal, Canada, where I lived for several years. I have a Bachelor in Teaching French as a foreign language from the Université de Bourgogne.
I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
À bientôt!
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Very modern. At the same time, we process texts via a file. The lessons were adapted to my needs and are very effective and recommendable!
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Hello!
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Don’t be afraid to take the first step!
Remember: “The devil is not so black as he is painted”!
See you soon in our first lesson!
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The professor's preparation is impeccable. Perfect to go from basic to advanced level. He organizes the lessons with PDFs and documents customized by him according to the student. Friendly and experienced, perfect for all ages.
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Blanca N.Thank you Jolanda, you are very nice!
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Hella is a very easy-going and open-minded person. She asked me to introduce myself and was in the process of determining my level of French, which was fine. Then she introduced herself and described her teaching model, which I found to be very sensible. We have also expressed the objectives. I believe I can reach them with Hella's help. Looking forward to our next lessons!
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Hello,
I am a multilingual teacher with experience in teaching French to German, Japanese, English, Bulgarian and Italian-speaking students, etc. (levels A1 to C1).
I have been teaching French for 8 years in Luxemburg and now in Bulgaria for 4 years, to teenagers, housewives, businessmen, employees, doctors, etc. I can also help you with DELF and DALF preparation. I give lessons via Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams in several countries.
My teaching method for each class : a grammar point together with listening, a lot of speaking with conversation questions or games. While you speak, I write all the new words you need to express yourself, illustrated by pictures or translated in your language.
I do my best to make you feel comfortable to speak and for you to have a pleasant time. According to me, using humour will help you learn more easily.
Whether you need to learn French for business, integration in a French-speaking country or studying, I will be happy to help you. Do not hesitate to contact me for a free trial lesson.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Katia
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Great teacher who makes learning language fun. Also good at making you comfortable to speak the language already in the very beginning.
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Hello,
I am a multilingual teacher with experience in teaching French to German, Japanese, English, Bulgarian and Italian-speaking students, etc. (levels A1 to C1).
I have been teaching French for 8 years in Luxemburg and now in Bulgaria for 4 years, to teenagers, housewives, businessmen, employees, doctors, etc. I can also help you with DELF and DALF preparation. I give lessons via Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams in several countries.
My teaching method for each class : a grammar point together with listening, a lot of speaking with conversation questions or games. While you speak, I write all the new words you need to express yourself, illustrated by pictures or translated in your language.
I do my best to make you feel comfortable to speak and for you to have a pleasant time. According to me, using humour will help you learn more easily.
Whether you need to learn French for business, integration in a French-speaking country or studying, I will be happy to help you. Do not hesitate to contact me for a free trial lesson.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Katia
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Katia's approach is very enjoyable and the hours go by! I am very happy with the progress I make and the material used is easy to absorb. I highly recommend Katia, she is positive, punctual and a very cheerful teacher which nowadays is not so easy to find!
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Learning with a system and joy.
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Because of its linguistic relationship with English, Norwegian is relatively easy to learn for people with a knowledge of English. About a third of the vocabulary can be understood by everyone either immediately or after a few lessons. The grammar is simpler than in German or Dutch, for example. The best prerequisites for learning this wonderful language!
My lessons are aimed at beginners and advanced learners (A1-B2).
I practise modern language teaching methods that I learned at the Folke University in Bergen. This means:
- We learn by talking a lot to each other
- We will work with images that encourage us to speak
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- We take grammar seriously where it is important. We don't let it limit us
- We learn easiest when we have fun and enjoy it.
Regardless of whether you are preparing for a job interview, are thinking of emigrating or are just there to enjoy the matter: My lessons adapt to your wishes.
The first introductory lesson is free. If you book several hours at once, you will receive a discount.
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I was born in Luxembourg and have lived in Bergen / Norway for over 10 years. I work as a historian in a UNESCO World Heritage Museum and am in daily contact with Scandinavian history and the Norwegian language. I originally studied Scandinavian Studies, Medieval History and Archeology in Germany and Norway. I learned Norwegian about 20 years ago and taught for several years at the University of Bonn / Germany and the Folke University in Bergen / Norway. I speak 5 languages and can also read some historical languages (including Old Norse).
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I am looking forward to our collaboration!
Vi snakkes,
Tom
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Specialized in teaching for many years, in him you will find a well prepared, expert, friendly and inspiring teacher with a creative and at the same time simple teaching method.
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I am at your disposal for any further information.
See you soon,
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Amazing teacher! Very helpful and listens well to the student's wishes. Would recommend her to everyone.
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1 - If you are looking for a well-structured French program to take you from a beginner level to advanced level to be able to travel to France, i have developed with success my own program which includes 70 worksheets from basic to advance level.
2 - If you are thinking taking any DELF exam, I can help you as I have experience in this field (3 years with Ensemble en Francais - online school).
3 - If you are a VCE French student, I definitively will be able to boost your skills to do well at the exam due to my experience as VCE French teacher and also as a VCE assessor.
4 - Finally I have also an extensive experience in teaching French at the primary and middle school level
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Francois is teaching our daughter in French at the moment. She is a total beginner and they started from scratch. Both work for one hour daily and agree on homework which is being checked in the next lesson. The lesson via Skype is working well with the exchange of material Skype as well. We can definitely see progress.
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Hello everyone,
My name is Ilaria, I am 30 years old, I have a post-graduate Master in Linguistic Education at the Ca'Foscari University of Venice. I currently teach Italian to foreigners online.
I gained numerous experiences abroad, I volunteered for one year in Romania, then I worked for two years in Bucharest and two in Ireland in the field of customer service for international companies.
I am a native speaker of Italian but I speak fluent English, Romanian and French.
I currently live in Bologna.
I also love fitness, sitcoms, social media (memes are my passion) and, when the crown allows it, travel.
Can't wait to hear from you! Do not hesitate to send me a message if you would like to be guided in your process of learning my beautiful language.
I have a CEDILS certification.
In the first lesson I try to get an impression of the students, their attitude, cognitive style, needs, level of exposure to the language, motivation etc. I try an inductive - conversational approach first, I plan every lesson and I provide the student with a Google Drive file, anticipating contents and activities.Mostly I tend to work on what it's best for the students (ex. some of them prefer learning tables with grammar rules, verbs etc by heart, I make them understand that this is not considered the fastest nor most efficient way generally, but if it works for them I encourage it). I always try to make them capable of learn by their own and I want them to see me as a facilitator, a guide, not "the person who owns the knowledge". I keep my students focused by constantly stimulating them, asking questions, asking them to share thoughts and formulate hypotheses. Also I always provide explanations for what I do, why I do it in a certain way and at a certain time. I also use a manual.
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Ilaria is a young and motivated teacher. He personally writes the exercises to be done and uses a very innovative method for learning. It uses Google to share documents to use during the lesson, making it more fluid and effective, with the aim of facilitating the learning of its students. Learning with her is a great choice.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
Ilaria V.Thanks Giacomo!
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