French alphabet pronunciation

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Grammarist

French and English use the same alphabet (unlike the Spanish alphabet, for example, which has a few extra letters), but the letters are pronounced differently:

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

ahh

bay

say

day

ehh

eff

jhay

ahsh

ee

jhee

kahh

ehll

ehmm

ehnn

ohh

pay

koo

aihr

ess

tay

ooh

vay

doo-bluh-vay

eex

ee-grek

zed

  • The unaccented French e is pronounced similarly to the e in the English word the, but slightly shorter and further back in the throat.
  • The French letters g and j are pronounced with a soft jhay sound similar to the s in Asia. The vowel sounds in the French letters are switched—g being jhay, and j being jhee.

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