2.1: Diacritical Marks
- Page ID
- 266018
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Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.
Let's study !
Diacritic Marks (accent marks)
Here are the important accents and diacritical marks to remember in French. They are important for both spelling and pronunciation:
| Mark | Name | Examples | Explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| ´ | accent aigu (acute accent) |
étudiant, marié, café | Indicates that an is pronounced like the underlined vowels in day or late, but shorter and crisper. When a French word begins with é is often means that an s would appear at the beginning of the English equivalent: éponge -> sponge; état —> state; diante —> student. |
| ` | accent grave (grave accent) |
très, à | Indicates that an e is pronounces like the in the English word pet. For example: très, nièce, père. When it is placed over an a or a u, it does not change the pronunciation, but it does distinguish words. Compare: la (the) vs. là (there); ou (or) vs. où (where); a (has) vs. à (to, at). |
| ˆ | accent circonflexe (circumflex) |
hôpital, âge, île, août, sûr | This mark can appear above any vowel. It indicates that a letter has been dropped form an older version of the word, usually an s. This can help us identify mots apparentés. For example: hôpital (hospital), forest (forêt), fête (feast). L'accent circonflexe can also help distinguish between words with similar spellings: mûr (ripe) vs. mur (wall); sûr (sure) vs. sur (on). |
| ¨ |
tréma |
naïve, Haïti, égoïste | Indicates that the vowel under it must be pronounced separately form the vowel next to it (without blending) |
| ç | cédille (cedilla) |
ça, garçon, français | Softens the letter c to be pronounced like an English /s/ instead of a /k/. |
Let's practice !
Activity
Visit these sites to learn how to type these marks on your computer:
- How to type accent marks with a Chromebook
- How to type French accent marks (PC & Mac) (Links to an external site.)
- French Accent Marks
Type out the following sentence to show that you can make this accent marks:
Dès Noël, où un zéphyr haï me vêt de glaçons würmiens, je dîne d’exquis rôtis de bœuf au kir. (From Christmas, when a hated zephyr dresses me in Würmian icicles, I dine on exquisite roast beef with kir.)