Liaison is one of the features of French that makes it sound so fluid and connected. Once you understand how it works, you will recognize it everywhere in natural French speech, and your own pronunciation will start to sound much more natural too.
What is liaison?
Liaison is when the normally silent final consonant of a word is pronounced because the next word begins with a vowel or a silent h. The two words are connected as if they were one.
Common liaison examples
- les amis → pronounced “lay-za-MEE” (the s of les links to amis)
- nous avons → “noo-za-VON”
- vous etes → “voo-ZET”
- les enfants → “lay-zan-FAN”
- un ami → “un-na-MEE”
Mandatory liaisons
Liaison is required in certain grammatical contexts.
- Between an article or number and a noun: les amis, deux enfants
- Between a pronoun and a verb: nous avons, vous etes, ils ont
- Between an adjective and a noun: un grand arbre, les petits enfants
- After common short adverbs: tres interessant, bien sur
Forbidden liaisons
Liaison does not happen in some cases:
- After et (and): un cafe et un croissant — no liaison after et
- Before an aspirated h: les haricots — no liaison
- After a singular noun: un enfant adorable — no liaison between enfant and adorable
The consonant that links
The most common liaison consonants are:
- s and x → pronounced like “z”: les amis, deux ans
- n → pronounced as n: un ami, bon appetit
- t → pronounced as t: il est arrive, c’est ouvert
- d → pronounced like “t”: grand arbre
Liaison in everyday phrases
- Comment allez-vous ? — two liaisons: “koh-man-ta-lay-VOO”
- C’est un ami. — “say-tun-na-MEE”
- Vous avez l’heure ? — “voo-za-vay”
Final tip
Do not try to memorize every liaison rule at once. The mandatory ones will come naturally through listening and repeating. Focus first on the most frequent combinations: les, des, nous, vous, ils followed by a vowel, and you will cover 80% of the liaisons you hear every day.
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