Silent Letters, Liaison and Elision: How French Words Connect

French sounds like a stream of sound to beginners, and that's partly because words are linked together. Three ideas explain most of it: silent letters, liaison and elision.

Silent final letters

In French, most final consonants aren't pronounced: petit, grand, vous, trop, beaucoup, lit. A classic memory aid is the word CaReFuL: the letters C, R, F, L are often pronounced at the end of a word: avec, sur, neuf, sel. There are many exceptions (parler ends in a silent r; clef has a silent f), so treat it as a tendency.

The final e is silent at the end of words, but it signals that the previous consonant is pronounced: petit (silent t) versus petite (pronounced t).

Enchaînement: linking pronounced consonants

When a word ends in a pronounced consonant and the next word begins with a vowel, the consonant slides across: il a sounds like "i-la"; elle est sounds like "e-lè". No sound is added, but the syllable boundaries shift.

Liaison: reviving silent consonants

Liaison happens when a normally silent final consonant is pronounced because the next word starts with a vowel or a silent h. The consonant joins the next word.

Common liaisons:

• les amis → "lay-z-amee" (the s sounds like z)
• vous avez → "voo-z-avay"
• un petit ami → "un puh-tee-t-amee"
• nous allons → "noo-z-allon"
• deux enfants → "duh-z-onfon"
• ils ont → "eel-z-on"
• c'est un → "say-t-un"
• grand homme → "gron-t-om" (the d sounds like t)

Sound changes in liaison: s and x sound like z; d sounds like t; f sounds like v in neuf ans.

Liaison is required

• Between a determiner and a noun or adjective: les enfants, un grand homme, mes amis
• Between a subject pronoun and its verb: ils ont, nous avons, on a
• After short prepositions and adverbs: en avril, très important, dans un mois
• In fixed expressions: États-Unis, de plus en plus

Liaison is forbidden

• After et (and): un garçon et une fille (no t sound)
• Before a "h aspiré" (see below)
• After a singular noun before an adjective in many cases: un enfant intelligent usually no liaison after enfant
• Before words like onze, oui: les onze, les oui

Liaison is optional

In careful or formal speech, you'll hear many optional liaisons that are dropped in casual talk. Learners should focus on the required ones.

Elision: dropping vowels

Short words ending in a vowel drop it before another vowel or silent h, and are replaced by an apostrophe:

• le / la → l' (l'ami, l'école)
• je → j' (j'aime)
• me, te, se → m', t', s'
• ne → n' (je n'ai pas)
• de → d' (d'accord)
• que → qu' (qu'il)
• si → s' before il/ils only (s'il vous plaît)

H muet versus h aspiré

The letter h is never pronounced in French, but it behaves in two ways:

• H muet (mute): acts as if the word begins with a vowel. Elision and liaison happen: l'homme, les hommes ("lay-zom").
• H aspiré (aspirated): acts like a consonant. No elision or liaison: le héros, les héros ("lay ay-roh"), la haine.

A dictionary usually marks h aspiré words with a symbol, such as an asterisk or a raised dot.

Why it matters

Knowing these rules helps you understand fast speech, because you'll recognise where one word ends and another begins. It also makes your own French smoother.

Tips

1. Learn required liaisons first, especially after articles and pronouns.
2. Listen and repeat whole phrases, not single words.
3. Mark liaisons in your notes with a link symbol.
4. Check dictionary entries for h aspiré.

Check pronunciation-related details with English French Dictionary →