French orthography

Template:Short description Template:IPA notice French orthography encompasses the spelling and punctuation of the French language. It is based on a combination of phonemic and historical principles. The spelling of words is largely based on the pronunciation of Old French Template:Circa–1200 AD, and has stayed more or less the same since then, despite enormous changes to the pronunciation of the language in the intervening years. Even in the late 17th century, with the publication of the first French dictionary by the Académie française, there were attempts to reform French orthography.

This has resulted in a complicated relationship between spelling and sound, especially for vowels; a multitude of silent letters; and many homophones, e.g. Template:Wikt-lang/Template:Wikt-lang/Template:Wikt-lang/Template:Wikt-lang/Template:Wikt-lang/Template:Wikt-lang (all pronounced ) and Template:Wikt-lang/Template:Wikt-lang/Template:Wikt-lang (all pronounced ). This is conspicuous in verbs: Template:Wikt-lang (you speak), Template:Wikt-lang (I speak / one speaks) and Template:Wikt-lang (they speak) all sound like . Later attempts to respell some words in accordance with their Latin etymologies further increased the number of silent letters (e.g., Template:Wikt-lang vs. older Template:Wikt-lang – compare English "tense", which reflects the original spelling – and Template:Wikt-lang vs. older Template:Wikt-lang).

Nevertheless, the rules governing French orthography allow for a reasonable degree of accuracy when pronouncing unfamiliar French words from their written forms. The reverse operation, producing written forms from pronunciation, is much more ambiguous. The French alphabet uses a number of diacritics, including the circumflex, diaeresis, acute, and grave accents, as well as ligatures. A system of braille has been developed for people who are visually impaired.

Alphabet

The French alphabet is based on the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, uppercase and lowercase, with five diacritics and two orthographic ligatures.

Letter	Name	Name (IPA)	Diacritics and ligatures
A	a		Àà, Ââ, Ææ
B	bé
C	cé		Çç
D	dé
E	e		Éé, Èè, Êê, Ëë
F	effe
G	gé
H	ache
I	i		Îî, Ïï
J	ji
K	ka
L	elle
M	emme
N	enne
O	o		Ôô, Œœ
P	pé
Q	qu
R	erre
S	esse
T	té
U	u		Ùù, Ûû, Üü
V	vé
W	double vé
X	ixe
Y	i grec		Ÿÿ
Z	zède

Template:Vr and Template:Vr are rarely used except in loanwords and regional words. is usually written Template:Vr; is usually written Template:Vr anywhere but before Template:Vr, Template:Vr before Template:Vr, and sometimes Template:Vr at the ends of words. However, Template:Vr is common in the metric prefix kilo- (originally from Greek Template:Wikt-lang khilia "a thousand"), e.g. , , , .

Diacritics

The diacritics used in French orthography are the acute accent (Template:Vr; ), the grave accent (Template:Vr; ), the circumflex (Template:Vr; ), the diaeresis (Template:Vr; ), and the cedilla (Template:Vr; ). Diacritics have no effect on the primary alphabetical order.

• An acute accent over Template:Vr represents . An Template:Vr in modern French is often used where a combination of Template:Vr and a consonant, usually Template:Vr, would have been used formerly, e.g. < .
• A grave accent over Template:Vr or Template:Vr is primarily used to distinguish homophones: ("to") vs. ("has"); ("or") vs. ("where"; note that Template:Vr is only used in this word). A grave accent over Template:Vr indicates in positions where a plain Template:Vr would be pronounced (schwa). Many verb conjugations contain regular alternations between Template:Vr and Template:Vr; for example, the accent mark in the present tense verb distinguishes the vowel's pronunciation from the schwa in the infinitive, .
• A circumflex over Template:Vr indicates , respectively, but the distinction between Template:Vr vs. Template:Vr is being lost in Parisian French, merging them as . In Belgian French, Template:Vr is pronounced . Most often, it indicates the historical deletion of an adjacent letter (usually Template:Vr or a vowel): < , < , < , < (in medieval manuscripts many letters were often written as diacritical marks, e.g. the circumflex for Template:Vr and the tilde for Template:Vr). It has also come to be used to distinguish homophones, e.g. ("of the") vs. (past participle of "to have to do something (pertaining to an act)"); however is in fact written thus because of a dropped Template:Vr: deu (see Circumflex in French). Since the 1990 orthographic changes, the circumflex on Template:Vr and Template:Vr can be dropped unless it distinguishes homophones, e.g. becomes but (sure) does not change to avoid ambiguity with the word (on).
• A diaeresis over Template:Vr indicates a hiatus between the accented vowel and the vowel preceding it, e.g. , . The diaeresis may also indicate a glide/diphthong, as in .
  • The combination Template:Vr is pronounced in the regular way if followed by Template:Vr ( . An exception to this is ).
  • The combination Template:Vr is either pronounced (, ) or (); it represents if it precedes Template:Vr ( ).
  • A diaeresis on Template:Vr only occurs in some proper names and in modern editions of old French texts, e.g. (commune in Marne, now ), (alley in the 18th arrondissement of Paris), (family name and hotel on the Boulevard Raspail, Paris), ? (near Joigny), ? (name of Flemish origin spelt Template:Vr where cursive Template:Vr looked like Template:Vr to French clerks), (commune between Paris and Orly airport), Pierre Louÿs (author), Eugène Ysaÿe (violinist/composer), Moÿ-de-l'Aisne (commune in Aisne and a family name), and (an insurance company in eastern France).
  • The diaeresis on Template:Vr appears in the Biblical proper names ?, (with Template:Vr for as in words of Latin origin such as , or chemical element names such as ), , , and , as well as French names such as Haüy .Template:Category handlerTemplate:Category handler Nevertheless, since the 1990 orthographic changes, the diaeresis in words containing Template:Vr (such as or ) can be moved onto the Template:Vr: , , and by analogy may be used in verbs such as . Without a diaeresis, the Template:Vr would be silent (or a schwa in accents which retain one): .
  • In addition, words of German origin retain their umlaut (Template:Vr) if applicable but often use French pronunciation, such as (, trademark of a pressure washer).
• A cedilla under Template:Vr indicates that it is pronounced rather than . Thus "I throw" (with Template:Vr for before Template:Vr), "I was throwing" (Template:Vr would represent before Template:Vr without the cedilla). The cedilla is only used before Template:Vr, e.g. . A cedilla is not used before Template:Vr, since they already mark the Template:Vr as , e.g. , , .

A tilde (Template:Vr) above Template:Vr is occasionally used in French for words and names of Spanish origin that have been incorporated into the language (e.g., , ). Like the other diacritics, the tilde has no impact on the primary alphabetical order.

Diacritics are often omitted on capital letters, mainly for technical reasons (not present on AZERTY keyboards). However both the Académie française and the Office québécois de la langue française reject this usage and confirm that "in French, the accent has full orthographic value", except for acronyms but not for abbreviations (e.g., , , but ). Nevertheless, diacritics are often ignored in word games, including crosswords, Scrabble, and .

Ligatures

The ligatures Template:Vr and Template:Vr are part of French orthography. For collation, these ligatures are treated like the sequences Template:Vr and Template:Vr respectively.

Æ

Template:Vr (Template:Langx, or ) is rare, appearing only in some words of Latin and Greek origin like , , , (as named dog’s parsley). It generally represents the vowel , like Template:Vr.

The sequence Template:Vr appears in loanwords where both sounds are heard, as in and .

Œ

Template:Vr (Template:Langx, or ) is a mandatory contraction of Template:Vr in certain words. Some of these are native French words, with the pronunciation or , e.g. "choir" , "heart" , "moods (related to moral)" , "knot" , "sister" , "egg" , "work (of art)" , "vow" . It usually appears in the combination Template:Vr; "eye" is an exception. Many of these words were originally written with the digraph Template:Vr; the Template:Vr in the ligature represents a sometimes artificial attempt to imitate the Latin spelling: Template:Langx > Old French / > Modern French .

Template:Vr is also used in words of Greek origin, as the Latin rendering of the Greek diphthong Template:Vr, e.g. "coelacanth". These words used to be pronounced with , but in recent years a spelling pronunciation with has taken hold, e.g. or , or etc. The pronunciation with is often seen to be more correct.

When Template:Vr is found after Template:Vr, the Template:Vr can be pronounced in some cases (), or in others ().

Template:Vr is not used when both letters contribute different sounds. For example, when Template:Vr is part of a prefix (), or when Template:Vr is part of a suffix (), or in the word and its derivatives.

Digraphs and trigraphs

French digraphs and trigraphs have both historical and phonological origins. In the first case, it is a vestige of the spelling in the word's original language (usually Latin or Greek) maintained in modern French, e.g. the use of Template:Vr in , Template:Vr in , or Template:Vr in . In the second case, a digraph is due to an archaic pronunciation, such as Template:Vr, Template:Vr, Template:Vr, Template:Vr, and Template:Vr, or is merely a convenient way to expand the twenty-six-letter alphabet to cover all relevant phonemes, as in Template:Vr, Template:Vr, Template:Vr, Template:Vr, Template:Vr, and Template:Vr. Some cases are a mixture of these or are used for purely pragmatic reasons, such as Template:Vr for in ('he ate'), where the Template:Vr serves to indicate a "soft" Template:Vr inherent in the verb's root, similar to the significance of a cedilla to Template:Vr.

Spelling to sound correspondences

Some exceptions apply to the rules governing the pronunciation of word-final consonants. See Liaison (French) for details.

Consonants

Consonants and combinations of consonant letters

Spelling		Major value (IPA)	Examples of major value	Minor values (IPA)	Examples of minor values	Exceptions	Foreign words
-bs, -cs (in the plural of words ending in silent Template:Vr or Template:Vr), -ds, -fs (in œufs, bœufs, and plurals of words ending in a silent Template:Vr), ‑gs, -ps, -ts		Ø	plombs, blancs, prends, œufs (also Template:IPAslink), cerfs, longs, draps, achats	Template:IPAslink	quarts	Template:IPAslink bavards
b, bb	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	ballon, abbé			Ø Lefebvre	Template:IPAslink Habdalah
	before a voiceless consonant	Template:IPAslink	absolu, observer, subtile	Ø (before p)	subpolar
	finally	Ø	plomb, Colomb	Template:IPAslink	Jacob
ç		Template:IPAslink	ça, garçon, reçu
c	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAslink	cyclone, loquace, douce, ciel, ceux	Ø (after s or x)	scene, exception		Template:IPAslink ciao, ciabatta
	initially/medially elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	cabas, crasse, cœur, sacré	Template:IPAslink (before æ and œ in scientific terms of Latin and Greek origin) Ø	cæcum, cœlacanthe bifteck, knickerbockers, knickers (before k) (see also -ct, cqu, -cte)	Template:IPAslink second
	finally	Template:IPAslink	lac, donc, parc	Ø	tabac, blanc, caoutchouc	Template:IPAslink zinc
cc	before Template:Vr	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	accès, accent			Template:IPAslink succion	Template:IPAslink soccer Template:IPAslink fettuccine
	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	accord
ch		Template:IPAslink	chat, douche	Template:IPAslink (often in words of Greek origin)	chaotique, chlore, varech	Ø yacht, almanach	Template:IPAslink check-list, strech, coach
-ct		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	direct, correct	Ø	respect, suspect, instinct, succinct	Template:IPA slink indict
d, dd	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	doux, adresse, addition
	finally	Ø	pied, accord	Template:IPAslink	David, sud
dj		Template:IPAslink	adjectif
f, ff		Template:IPAslink	fait, affoler, soif			Ø clef, cerf, nerf
g	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAslink	gens, manger	Template:IPAslink	gin, adagio, management	Template:IPAslink burger, gimmick, gyoza
	initially/medially elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	gain, glacier
	finally	Ø	joug, long, sang	Template:IPAslink	erg, zigzag	Template:IPAslink keg
gg		Template:IPAslink	aggraver, jogging, buggy	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	autosuggestion, suggérer		Template:IPAslink appoggiature, loggia, taleggio
gn		Template:IPAslink	montagne, agneau, gnôle	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	gnose, gnou
h		Ø	habite, hiver	Template:IPAslink (intervocalic)	Sahara	Template:IPAslink ahaner, hit	Template:IPAslink Rahel Template:IPAslink sinh, tanh, asinh, atanh
j		Template:IPAslink	joue, jeter	Template:IPAslink	jean, jazz		Template:IPAslink halelujah, fjord Template:IPAslink jota, marijuana
k		Template:IPAslink	alkyler, kilomètre, bifteck				Ø knock-out, knickerbockers Template:IPAslink Bakhmout, Khadija
l, ll		Template:IPAslink	lait, allier, il, royal, matériel, village	Template:IPAslink (after i) Ø (occasionally finally)	soleil, Meilhac, grillage cul, fusil, saoul	Ø fils, aulne, aulx (see also -il)
m, mm		Template:IPAslink	mou, pomme			Ø automne, condamner
n, nn		Template:IPAslink	nouvel, panne			Ø monsieur (see also -ent)
-ng (without nasal n)		Template:IPAslink	parking, camping				/Template:IPAlinkTemplate:IPAlink/ gang
p, pp	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	pain, appel	Ø	baptême, sept, apfel, pfefferoni
	finally	Ø	coup, trop	Template:IPAslink	cap, cep
ph		Template:IPAslink	téléphone, photo
pt			ptérodactyle, adapter, excepter, ptôse, concept	Template:IPAslink	baptême, compter, sept	prompt (also )
q (see qu)		Template:IPAslink	coq, cinq, piqûre (in new orthography, piqure), Qatar
r, rr, rrr		Template:IPAslink	rat, barre, brrr			Ø monsieur, gars (see also -er)
s	initially medially next to a consonant or after a nasal vowel	Template:IPAslink	sacre, estime, penser, instituer	Template:IPAslink	Alsace, transat, transiter	Ø Island, mesdames, mesdemoiselles, Descartes (also Template:IPAslink), messieurs (not considered double s), messeigneurs (not considered double s), Debusclin (see also sch)
	elsewhere between two vowels	Template:IPAslink	rose, paysage	Template:IPAslink	antisèche, parasol, vraisemblable
	finally	Ø	dans, repas	Template:IPAslink	fils, sens (noun), os (singular), ours	Template:IPAslink bos
sc	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAslink	science			Template:IPAslink fasciste
	elsewhere	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	script
sch		Template:IPAslink	schlague, haschisch, esche	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	schizoïde, ischion, æschne
sh		Template:IPAslink	flash, offshore, shabbat	Template:IPAslink	dysharmonie, transhumance
ss		Template:IPAslink	baisser, passer
-st		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	est (direction), ouest, podcast	Ø	est (verb), Jésus-Christ (also /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/)
t, tt	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	tout, attente	Template:IPAslink	nation (see ti + vowel)	Ø hautbois, asthme Template:IPAslink minutia (see ti + vowel)	Template:IPAslink thread
	finally	Ø	tant, raffut	Template:IPAslink	dot, brut, yaourt
tch		Template:IPAslink	tchat, match, Tchad
th		Template:IPAslink	thème, thermique, aneth			Ø asthme, bizuth, goth	Template:IPAslink thread
v		Template:IPAslink	ville, vanne
w		Template:IPAslink	kiwi, taekwondo, week-end (in new orthography, weekend), whisky	Template:IPAslink	edelweiss, wagon, wrap, interviewer
x	initially next to a voiceless consonant phonologically finally	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	axe, expansion, connexe	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	xénophobie, Xavier, xylophone	Template:IPAslink xhosa Template:IPAslink xérès (also /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link, Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/) Ø auxquels, auxquelles
	medially elsewhere	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	galaxie, maximum	Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	soixante, Bruxelles deuxième exigence
	finally	Ø	paix, deux	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	index, pharynx	Template:IPAslink six, dix, coccyx
xc	before Template:Vr	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	exciter
	elsewhere	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	excavation
z, zz	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	zain, gazette, blizzard				Template:IPAslink tzar Template:IPAslink Zeus, canzonetta, pizza, mezzanine
	finally	Ø	chez	Template:IPAslink	jazz (and any other word with double z), gaz, fez, merguez		Template:IPAslink quartz Template:IPAslink kronprinz

Vowels

Vowels and combinations of vowel letters

Spelling		Major value (IPA)	Examples of major value	Minor values (IPA)	Examples of minor value	Exceptions	Foreign words
a, à		Template:IPAslink	patte, arable, là, déjà	Template:IPAslink ∅	araser, base, condamner saoul, curacao, reggae		Template:IPAslink yacht (also Template:IPAslink) Template:IPAslink football Template:IPAslink lady Template:IPAslink flash, catcher
â		/Template:IPA link, Template:IPA link/	château, pâté	Template:IPAslink	dégât (also Template:IPAslink), parlâmes, liâtes, menât (simple past and imperfect subjunctive verb endings -âmes, -âtes, and -ât)
aa		Template:IPAslink	graal, Baal, maastrichtois	/Template:IPA link.Template:IPA link/	aa
æ		Template:IPAslink	ex-æquo, cæcum
ae		Template:IPAslink	reggae	/Template:IPA link/	groenendael, maelstrom, Portaels	/Template:IPA link.Template:IPA link/ maestro /Template:IPA link.Template:IPA link/ paella
aë		/Template:IPA link.Template:IPA link/	Raphaël, Israël			/Template:IPA link/ Staël
ai		Template:IPAslink	vrai, faite ai, aiguille, baisser, gai, quai	Template:IPAslink	lançai, mangerai (future and simple past verb forms ending in -ai or -rai)	Template:IPAslink faisan, faisons, (and all other conjugated forms of faire which are spelt fais- and followed by a pronounced vowel)
aî (in new orthography Template:Vr)		/Template:IPA link, Template:IPA link/	maître, chaîne (in new orthography, maitre, chaine)
aï	before a consonant	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	naïf, haïr
	before a vowel	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	aïe, aïeul, haïe, païen
aie		Template:IPAslink	baie, monnaie	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	paie (also paye)
ao, aô	phonologically closed syllable	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	aorte, extraordinaire (also Template:IPAslink)			Template:IPAslink faonne Template:IPAslink Saône
	phonologically open syllable	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	cacao, chaos, baobab			Template:IPAslink paonneau Template:IPAslink curaçao
aou, aoû		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	caoutchouc, aoûtien (in new orthography, aoutien), yaourt	Template:IPAslink	saoul, août (in new orthography, aout)
au	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	haut, augure			Template:IPAslink Paul
	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAslink	dinosaure, Aurélie, Laurent (also Template:IPAslink)
ay	elsewhere	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	ayons, essayer (also /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/)	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	mayonnaise, papaye, ayoye	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ pays (also /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/), abbaye /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ Defays
	finally	Template:IPAslink	Gamay, margay, railway				Template:IPAslink okay
-aye		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	abbaye	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	paye	Template:IPAslink La Haye /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ baye
e	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink ∅ (in a position where it can be easily elided)	repeser, genoux franchement, acheter (also Template:IPAslink), eu, eû, eussions, eûmes (see eu and eû)	Template:IPAslink	reine	Template:IPAslink revolver (in new orthography, révolver), Clemenceau	Template:IPAslink bewarer
	in closed syllables (before multiple consonants, Template:Vr, or a final spoken consonant) or before double consonants	Template:IPAslink	est, estival, voyelle, examiner, exécuter, quel	/Template:IPA link/ (before double consonant)	essence, effet, henné	Template:IPAslink et, pieds (and any other noun plural ending in (consonant other than t)+s) Template:IPAslink femme, solennel, fréquemment, (and other adverbs ending in -emment) Template:IPAslink Gennevilliers (see also -er) (see also ae)	Template:IPAslink forester ∅ cokes
	in open syllables (before ⟨ch⟩+vowel or a consonant (except ⟨l, r⟩) followed by ⟨l, r⟩)	Template:IPAslink	recherche, secrète, repli	Template:IPAslink
	before a silent consonant other than Template:Vr or cons.+Template:Vr	Template:IPAslink	les, nez, clef, mangez, (and any form of a verb in the second person plural that ends in -ez), assez (see also -er, -es), mesdames, mesdemoiselles (also Template:IPAslink), Descartes (also Template:IPAslink), eh, prehnite	Template:IPAslink before silent ⟨t⟩	chalet	Template:IPAslink Lebesgue (see also -es)
	finally	∅	caisse, unique	Template:IPAslink	que, de, je (in monosyllables), quatre, parle, chambre, répondre, hymne, indemne, syntagme (after two or more consonants of which the last is r, l, m or n), presque, puisque, quelque (the compound adjective pronouns ending in -que) (see also ae)
é, ée		Template:IPAslink	clé, échapper, idée			Template:IPAslink (in closed syllables) événement, céderai, vénerie (in new orthography, évènement, cèderai, vènerie)
è		Template:IPAslink	relève, zèle
ê	phonologically finally or in closed syllables	/Template:IPA link, Template:IPA link/	tête, crêpe, forêt, prêt
	in open syllables	/Template:IPA link, Template:IPA link/	bêtise
ea (except after Template:Vr)		Template:IPAslink	dealer, leader, speaker (in new orthography, dealeur, leadeur, speakeur)
ee		Template:IPAslink	week-end (in new orthography, weekend), spleen			Template:IPAslink pedigree (also pédigré(e))
eau		Template:IPAslink	eau, oiseaux
ei		Template:IPAslink	neige (also Template:IPAslink), reine (also Template:IPAslink), geisha (also /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/)
eî		/Template:IPA link, Template:IPA link/	reître (in new orthography, reitre)
eoi		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	asseoir (in new orthography, assoir)
eu	initially or phonologically finally or before Template:IPAslink	Template:IPAslink	Europe, heureux, peu, chanteuse			Template:IPAslink eu, eussions, (verb forms of with initial Template:Vr-)
	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	beurre, jeune	Template:IPAslink (in closed and unstressed syllables)	feutre, neutre, pleuvoir	gageure (in new orthography, gageüre)
eû		Template:IPAslink	jeûne			Template:IPAslink eûmes, eût, (and any conjugated forms of avoir spelt with eû-)
ey	before vowel	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	gouleyant, volleyer
	finally	Template:IPAslink	hockey, trolley
i	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	ici, proscrire				Ø business
	before l(l)	Template:IPAslink Ø	million, tilter, grillage Meilhac, travail, bouteille
	before vowel	Template:IPAslink	fief, ionique, rien	/Template:IPAlink.Template:IPAlink/ Template:IPAslink (in compound words or before final e)	cabriolet antioxydant, régie
	after e	∅	reine
	after o	/Template:IPAlink, Template:IPAlink/	mademoiselle, trois
î		Template:IPAslink	gîte, épître (in new orthography, gitre, epitre)
ï (initially or between vowels)		Template:IPAslink	ïambe (also iambe), aïeul, païen			Template:IPAslink ouïe
-ie		Template:IPAslink	régie, vie
o	phonologically finally, next to vowel or before Template:IPAslink	Template:IPAslink	pro, mot, chose, déposes	Template:IPAslink ∅ Template:IPAslink	sosie tournir (see ou), paonneau moi, oiseaux, moyen (see oi and oy)	Template:IPAslink roïne	Template:IPAslink out, knock-out
	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	carotte, offre	Template:IPAslink	cyclone, fosse, tome	Template:IPAslink monsieur	Template:IPAslink Wolfenstein
ô		Template:IPAslink	tôt, cône			Template:IPAslink hôpital (also Template:IPAslink)
œ		Template:IPAslink	œil	Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink	œsophage, fœtus œstrogène	Template:IPAslink lœss
oe		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	coefficient			/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link, Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ moelle, moellon, moelleux (obsolete spellings: moëlle, moëllon, moëlleux) Template:IPAslink foehn
oê		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link, Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	poêle
oë		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	Noël			/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ canoë /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ foëne, Plancoët /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ Voëvre
œu	phonologically finally	Template:IPAslink	nœud, œufs, bœufs, vœu
	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	sœur, cœur, œuf, bœuf
oi, oie		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	roi, oiseau, foie, quoi (also /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ for these latter words)	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	bois, noix, poids, trois	Template:IPAslink oignon (in new orthography, ognon) /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ séquoia /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ autoimmuniser
oî		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link, Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	croîs, Benoît
oï		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	coït, astéroïde	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	troïka
oo		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	coopération, oocyte, zoologie				Template:IPAslink bazooka, cool, football Template:IPAslink alcool, Boskoop, rooibos Template:IPAslink spéculoos, mooré, zoo Template:IPAslink shampooing
ou, où	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	ouvrir, sous, où			/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ pseudouridimycine	/Template:IPA link.Template:IPA link/ out, knock-out
	before vowel or h+vowel	Template:IPAslink	ouest, couiner, oui, souhait (also /Template:IPA link/)
oû (in new orthography Template:Vr)		Template:IPAslink	coût, goût (in new orthography, cout, gout)
-oue		Template:IPAslink	roue
oy		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	moyen, royaume	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link, Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	Fourcroy	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ oyez (and any conjugated form of ouïr spelt with oy-), goyave, cow-boy (in new orthography cowboy), ayoye /Template:IPA link.Template:IPA link/ Moyse
u	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	tu, juge	Template:IPAslink	club, puzzle	Template:IPAslink tofu, pudding Template:IPAslink rhumerie (see also um)	Template:IPAslink business Template:IPAslink buggy /Template:IPAlinkTemplate:IPAlink/ tuner
	before vowel	Template:IPAslink Ø	huit, tuer qui, guarde, equilibre	Template:IPAslink	pollueur	Template:IPAslink cacahuète (also Template:IPAslink)
	after o	Template:IPAslink	tournir	Template:IPAslink	gouache
û (in new orthography Template:Vr)		Template:IPAslink	sûr, flûte (in new orthography, flute)
ue, uë	elsewhere	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	actuel, ruelle	Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ /Template:IPA link.Template:IPA link/ Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink (see below)	gué guerre tuer arguer (in new orthography, argüer) que orgueil, cueillir		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ fuel (also fioul)
	finally	Template:IPAslink	rue
	finally, after q or g	Ø	clique	Template:IPAslink	aiguë (in new orthography, aigüe)
ui, uï		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	linguistique, équilateral ambiguïté (in new orthography, ambigüité)	/Template:IPA link/	équilibre
uy		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	bruyant, ennuyé, fuyons, Guyenne	/Template:IPA link.Template:IPA link/	gruyère, thuya	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ puy
y	elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	cyclone, style
	elsewhere before vowel	Template:IPAslink	yeux, yole	Template:IPAslink /Template:IPAlink.Template:IPAlink/	polyester, Libye Guyot, myocardiovasculaire
	after o	/Template:IPAlinkTemplate:IPAlink/	mademoiselle, trois	/Template:IPAlink, Template:IPAlink/	Fourcroy	/Template:IPAlink/ oyez /Template:IPAlink/ Moyse
	after u	/Template:IPAlinkTemplate:IPAlink/	bruyant, ennuyé, fuyons, Guyenne	/Template:IPA link/	gruyère, thuya	/Template:IPA link/ puy
	after e	/Template:IPAlink/	gouleyant	Ø (finally)	trolley
ÿ	(used only in proper nouns)	Template:IPAslink	L'Haÿ-les-Roses, Freÿr

Vowels and consonants

Combinations of vowel and consonant letters

Spelling		Major value (IPA)	Examples of major value	Minor values (IPA)	Examples of minor value	Exceptions	Foreign words
am	before consonant	Template:IPAslink	ambiance, lampe			Template:IPAslink damné
	finally	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	Vietnam, tam-tam, macadam			Template:IPAslink Adam
an, aan	before consonant or finally	Template:IPAslink	France, an, bilan, plan, afrikaans				/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ brahman, chaman, dan, gentleman, tennisman, naan
aen, aën	before consonant or finally	Template:IPAslink	Caen, Saint-Saëns
aim, ain	before consonant or finally	Template:IPAslink	faim, saint, bains
aon	before consonant or finally	Template:IPAslink	paon, faon	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	pharaon
aw		Template:IPAslink	crawl, yawl			/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ in the 18th century and still traditional French approximation of Laws, the colloquial Scottish form of the economist John Law's name.
cqu		Template:IPAslink	acquit, acquéreur
-cte	finally as feminine form of adjectives ending in silent Template:Vr (see above)	Template:IPAslink	succincte
em, en	before consonant or finally elsewhere	Template:IPAslink	embaucher, vent	Template:IPAslink	examen, ben, pensum, pentagone	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ week-end (in new orthography, weekend), lichen /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ indemne, totem
	before consonant or finally after Template:Vr	Template:IPAslink	européen, bien, doyen	Template:IPAslink (before t or soft c)	patient, quotient, science, audience
eim, ein	before consonant or finally	Template:IPAslink	plein, sein, Reims
-ent	3rd person plural verb ending	Ø	finissaient	Template:IPAslink	parlent
-er		Template:IPAslink	aller, transporter, premier	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	hiver, super, éther, fier, mer, enfer, Niger	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ leader (also Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link), speaker
-es		Ø	Nantes, faites	Template:IPAslink	sacres, parles	Template:IPAslink les, des, ces Template:IPAslink es	/Template:IPAlinkTemplate:IPAlink/ tames Template:IPAslink cokes
eun	before consonant or finally	Template:IPAslink	jeun
ew		/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	newton, steward (also /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/)			Template:IPAslink chewing-gum
ge	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAslink	geai, mangea
gu	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAslink	guerre, dingue	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link, Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	arguër (in new orthography, argüer), aiguille, linguistique, ambiguïté (in new orthography, ambigüité)
-il	after some vowels1	Template:IPAslink	ail, conseil
	not after vowel	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	il, fil	Template:IPAslink	outil, fils, fusil
-ilh-	after Template:Vr	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	Guilhem
	after other vowels	/Template:IPA link/	Meilhac, Devieilhe			/Template:IPA link/ Devieilhe (some families don't use the traditional pronunciation /j/ of ilh)
-ill-	after some vowels1	Template:IPAslink	paille, nouille
	not after vowel	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	mille, million, billion, ville, villa, village, tranquille	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	grillage, bille
im, in, în	before consonant or finally	Template:IPAslink	importer, vin, vînt			/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ sprint	Template:IPA slink sinh, asinh
oin, oën	before consonant or finally	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	besoin, point, Samoëns			Citroën
om, on	before consonant or finally	Template:IPAslink	ombre, bon			/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ canyon Template:IPAslink monsieur Template:IPAslink automne
ow		Template:IPAslink	cow-boy (also [aw]. In new orthography, cowboy), show			Template:IPAslink clown /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ Koweït
qu		Template:IPAslink	quand, pourquoi, loquace	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	équilatéral aquarium, loquace, quatuor	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/ piqûre (in new orthography, piqure)
ti + vowel	initially or after	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/, /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/, /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link.Template:IPA link/	bastion, gestionnaire, tiens, aquae-sextien
	elsewhere	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/, /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/, /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link.Template:IPA link/	fonctionnaire, initiation, Croatie, haïtien	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/, /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/, /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link.Template:IPA link/	the suffix -tié, all conjugated forms of verbs with a radical ending in -t (augmentions, partiez, etc.) or derived from tenir, and all nouns and past participles derived from such verbs and ending in -ie (sortie, divertie, etc.)	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/, /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/, /Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link.Template:IPA link/ minutia
um, un	before consonant or finally	Template:IPAslink	parfum, brun	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	album, maximum	Template:IPAslink nuncupation, punch (in new orthography, ponch), secundo
ym, yn	before consonant or finally	Template:IPAslink	sympa, syndrome	/Template:IPA linkTemplate:IPA link/	gymnase, hymne

^1 These combinations are pronounced after Template:Vr, all but the last of which are pronounced normally and are not influenced by the Template:Vr. For example, in , Template:Vr is pronounced ; in , Template:Vr is pronounced . Template:Vr, however, which only occurs in such combinations after Template:Vr and Template:Vr, is pronounced as opposed to , e.g. , , , etc. These combinations are never pronounced after Template:Vr, except -Template:Vr- (), e.g. , , where the vowel + Template:Vr + Template:Vr sequence is pronounced normally, although as usual, the pronunciation of Template:Vr after Template:Vr and Template:Vr is somewhat unpredictable: , , but , etc.

Words from Greek

The spelling of French words of Greek origin is complicated by a number of digraphs which originated in the Latin transcriptions. The digraphs Template:Vr normally represent , respectively, in Greek loanwords; and the ligatures Template:Vr and Template:Vr in Greek loanwords represent the same vowel as Template:Vr (Template:IPAslink). Further, many words in the international scientific vocabulary were constructed in French from Greek roots and have kept their digraphs (e.g. , ).

History

The Oaths of Strasbourg from 842 is the earliest text written in the early form of French called Romance or Gallo-Romance.

Roman

The Celtic Gaulish language of the inhabitants of Gaul disappeared progressively over the course of Roman rule as the Latin language began to replace it. Vulgar Latin, a generally lower register of Classical Latin spoken by the Roman soldiers, merchants and even by patricians in quotidian speech, was adopted by the natives and evolved slowly, taking the forms of different spoken Roman vernaculars according to the region of the empire.

Eventually the different forms of Vulgar Latin in what is now France evolved into three branches in the Gallo-Romance language sub-family, the north of the Loire, the in the south, and the Franco-Provençal languages in part of the east.

Old French

In the 9th century, the Romance vernaculars were already quite far from Latin. For example, to understand the Bible, written in Latin, footnotes were necessary. The languages found in the manuscripts dating from the 9th century to the 13th century form what is known as Old French (). With consolidation of royal power, beginning in the 13th century, the vernacular, the variety then in usage in the Île-de-France (region around Paris), took, little by little, over the other languages and evolved toward Classic French. These languages continued to evolve until Middle French () emerged, in the 14th century to the 16th century.

Middle French

File:Romant de la Rose, f. 1, ms. National Library of Wales, 14th century.png

, 14th century

During the Middle French period (Template:Circa–1600), modern spelling practices were largely established. This happened especially during the 16th century, under the influence of printers. The overall trend was towards continuity with Old French spelling, although some changes were made under the influence of changed pronunciation habits; for example, the Old French distinction between the diphthongs Template:Vr and Template:Vr was eliminated in favor of consistent Template:Vr,Template:Efn as both diphthongs had come to be pronounced or (depending on the surrounding sounds). However, many other distinctions that had become equally superfluous were maintained, e.g. between Template:Vr and soft Template:Vr or between Template:Vr and Template:Vr. It is likely that etymology was the guiding factor here: the distinctions Template:Vr and Template:Vr reflect corresponding distinctions in the spelling of the underlying Latin words, whereas no such distinction exists in the case of Template:Vr.

This period also saw the development of some explicitly etymological spellings, e.g. ("time"), ("twenty") and ("weight") (note that in many cases, the etymologizing was sloppy or occasionally completely incorrect; reflects Latin , with the Template:Vr in the wrong place, and actually comes from Latin , with no Template:Vr at all; the spelling is due to an incorrect derivation from Latin ). The trend towards etymologizing sometimes produced absurd (and generally rejected) spellings such as for normal ("to know"), which attempted to combine Latin ("to be wise", the correct origin of ) with ("to know").

Classical French

Modern French spelling was codified in the late 17th century by the Académie française, based largely on previously established spelling conventions. Some reforms have occurred since then, but most have been fairly minor. The most significant changes have been:

• Adoption of Template:Vr and Template:Vr to represent consonants, in place of former Template:Vr and Template:Vr.
• Addition of a circumflex accent to reflect historical vowel length. During the Middle French period, a distinction developed between long and short vowels, with long vowels largely stemming from a lost before a consonant, as in (cf. Spanish ), but sometimes from the coalescence of similar vowels, as in from earlier (early Old French < Vulgar Latin , cf. Spanish < ). Prior to this, such words continued to be spelled historically (e.g. and ). Ironically, by the time this convention was adopted in the 19th century, the former distinction between short and long vowels had largely disappeared in all but the most conservative pronunciations, with vowels automatically pronounced long or short depending on the phonological context (see French phonology).
• Use of Template:Vr in place of Template:Vr where pronounced rather than . The most significant effect of this was to change the spelling of all imperfect verbs (formerly spelled -Template:Vr, -Template:Vr, -Template:Vr rather than -Template:Vr, -Template:Vr, -Template:Vr), as well as the name of the language, from to .

Modern French

In October 1989, Michel Rocard, then-Prime Minister of France, established the High Council of the French Language () in Paris. He designated expertsTemplate:Snd among them linguists, representatives of the Académie française and lexicographersTemplate:Snd to propose standardizing several points, a few of those points being:

• The uniting hyphen in all compound numerals

e.g.

• The plural of compound words, the second element of which always takes the plural s

e.g. ,

• The circumflex Template:Vr disappears on Template:Vr and Template:Vr except for when it is needed to differentiate homophones

e.g. (cost) → , (abyss) → but (sure) because of (on)

• The past participle of followed by an infinitive verb is invariable (now works the same way as the verb )

Quickly, the experts set to work. Their conclusions were submitted to Belgian and Québécois linguistic political organizations. They were likewise submitted to the Académie française, which endorsed them unanimously, saying: "Current orthography remains that of usage, and the 'recommendations' of the High Council of the French language only enter into play with words that may be written in a different manner without being considered as incorrect or as faults."

The changes were published in the in December 1990. At the time the proposed changes were considered to be suggestions. In 2016, schoolbooks in France began to use the newer recommended spellings, with instruction to teachers that both old and new spellings be deemed correct.

Punctuation

In France, Belgium, Canada and Switzerland, the exclamation mark, question mark, semicolon, colon, percentage mark, currency symbols, hash, and guillemet all require a thin space between the punctuation mark and the material it adjoins. Computer software may aid or hinder the application of this rule, depending on the degree of localisation, as it is marked differently from most other Western punctuation.

Hyphens

The hyphen in French has a particular use in geographic names that is not found in English. Traditionally, the "specific" part of placenames, street names, and organization names are hyphenated (usually namesakes). For instance, (Square of the Battle of Stalingrad []); and (named after Blaise Pascal). Likewise, Pas-de-Calais is a French department; the eponymous Template:Wikt-lang (strait) is .

This rule is not uniformly observed in official names, e.g., either or , and usually has no hyphens. The names of Montreal Metro stations are consistently hyphenated when suitable, but those of Paris Métro stations mostly ignore this rule. (For more examples, see Trait d'union.)

See also

• Elision (French)
• French phonology
• French braille
• French manual alphabet
• Circumflex in French
• French heteronyms, words spelled the same but pronounced differently

Bibliography

• Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

External links

• Alternate French spelling Template:In lang
• Recording of 3 different voices pronouncing the French alphabet
• French alphabet pronounced by a native speaker (Youtube)