Table of content

• Are final vowels silent in French?
• Which final consonants should you pronounce?
• Final consonants are usually silent letters in french
• Focus on the consonants c and x

Are final vowels silent in French?

> back to top

First, let’s make a distinction between the vowels and the consonants. On one hand, final vowels are always pronounced, except for the letter e.

1. At the end of a word, A, I, O and Y are never silent letters in French

The first rule is easy: the vowels a, i, o and y are always pronounced at the end of a word.

For example:

2. E is usually silent at the end of a word

When it comes at the end of a word, the vowel e is usually a silent letter in French. For example:

3. However, E is a silent letter in this case...

The vowel e is pronounced, only when it comes at the end of a monosyllabic word, after a consonant:

To learn all the rules behind the pronunciation of the letter e, you may read this post: French e – Learn how to pronounce it.

Which final consonants should you pronounce?

> back to top

We’ve just seen that final vowels were relatively easy. But when it comes to final consonants, things get a little more complicated!

Here are all the rules to recognize the silent consonants in French...

Loanwords and onomatopoeias are not silent letters in French

Loanwords are words which come from another language. In French, they mainly come from English.

In such words, there is usually no silent letter:

In onomatopoeias, there are no silent letters either:

Combined letters are pronounced at the end of a word

In the section about combined letters in French, you'll discover how to pronounce them.

And when such combinations are placed at the end of a word, the final consonant will combine to the letter(s) before, as usual.

Here are some examples: Note that m and n always combine to some vowel, when they come at the end of a word.

Latin words ending in en and um are the only exception. In such words, the pronunciation is the same as in English:

F, L, Q and R are pronounced at the end of a word.

Consonants f, l, q and r are pronounced at the end of a French word.

For example:

Exceptions:

r is silent at the end of a polysyllabic word ending in er.

This is an important rule, as most verbs end in er in the infinitive. For example:

f is silent at the end of words ending in rf.

In such words, only the letter r is pronounced, and f is a silent letter in French:

Final consonants are usually silent letters in french

> back to top

Plural Forms

The plural forms of nouns and adjectives are marked with silent letters in French: either s or x.

For example:

French articles also have a plural form.

The final s will not be pronounced, but it will change the sound of the vowel e before.

This is due to the rules governing the pronunciation of the vowel e (French E – Learn how to pronounce it).

For example:

Verb conjugations

Let’s have a look at a few forms of the verb parler (to speak / to talk) in the present tense. The three following forms are pronounced the same:

Note also the silent letters in these forms:

D, G, P, S, T and Z are usually silent

At the end of a word, the letters d, g, p, s, t and z are usually silent letters in French.

Here are some examples:

Exceptions:

Apart from loanwords (see above), there are very few exceptions to this rule. Here are some of them:

Focus on the consonants c and x

> back to top

Regarding the consonants c and x, here are the rules you should apply to be right 9 times out of ten:

Consonant C

At the end of a word, the French c is usually pronounced as a k, except in words ending in anc and onc, where it is silent.

For example:

Consonant X

x is a silent letter in French:

• when it is used as a plural mark.
• in words ending in ix and ux.

Otherwise, the final x is pronounced. For example:

Two major exceptions

The numbers six (six) and dix (ten) are exceptions: the final x is pronounced as an s:

This may also be of some interest...

Work on your French pronunciation with a collection of posts with examples and audio recordings.