Silent Letters in French: What You Pronounce and What You Skip

Silent letters are one of the first things that surprises English speakers learning French. Many words are written with letters that are simply not pronounced. Once you understand the main rules, you can read French aloud with much more confidence.

Why does French have so many silent letters?

French spelling was largely fixed in the Middle Ages, but pronunciation continued to evolve. Today, the written form preserves historical sounds that are no longer spoken. This is similar to silent letters in English words like “knight” or “wrap”.

The most important rule: final consonants are usually silent

Most consonants at the end of a French word are not pronounced.

• chat (cat) — the t is silent
• grand (big) — the d is silent
• vous (you) — the s is silent
• beaucoup (a lot) — the p is silent
• nez (nose) — the z is silent

Exceptions: CaReFuL

The letters C, R, F, L are usually pronounced at the end of a word.

• avec = with (c is pronounced)
• bonjour = hello (r is pronounced)
• chef = chef (f is pronounced)
• seul = alone (l is pronounced)

The silent H

The letter h is almost always silent in French. But it comes in two types:

• h aspiré (aspirated h): no liaison, no elision → le hibou, la honte
• h muet (mute h): liaison and elision apply → l’homme, les hommes

The silent E

The final e in French is usually silent, or nearly so in casual speech.

• table, maison, ville, livre — the final e is not pronounced

In the middle of a word or phrase, the unstressed e can also be dropped in fast speech: je ne sais pas → j’sais pas

-ER verb endings

The final -er of infinitives sounds like “ay”, not “air”. The r is silent.

• parler, manger, aimer → pronounced “par-LAY, mahn-ZHAY, ay-MAY”

Common words where learners make mistakes

• est (is) — the st is silent → sounds like “ay”
• et (and) — the t is silent → sounds like “ay”
• les (the, plural) — the s is silent
• plus — the s is silent in negation (ne…plus) but pronounced in comparisons (plus grand)

Final tip

When you learn a new French word, look it up in a dictionary with audio. Hearing the word immediately after reading it is the fastest way to link spelling and pronunciation correctly in your memory.