5.3: The Letter L
- Page ID
- 268163
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)In this section, you will learn how to pronounce the l in -il and -ill.
Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.
In the audio players, you can slow down the audio by clicking on the turtle and speed up by clicking on the rabbit. The turtle and rabbit are located at the bottom right corner of each audio player.
Let's study!
L = [l]
A single letter l is almost always pronounced [l]:
labo, filet, bal
However, you will need to consider the CRFL rule to determine when the letter l goes silent at the end of a word. In words with more than one syllable and ending with l, the l will be silent: fusil, gentil, outil. A few one-syllable words ending in l will also have a silent l; for example, the l in fils is silent (pronounced [fis]). Other examples include: soûl, cul
The letters l followed by a vowel is pronounced [l], like in
le, facile, and kilo.
IL = [il]
The letters il are pronounced [il] when they are (a) at the end of a one-syllable word or (b) followed by a vowel. For example:
fil, facile, silence
LL
You can pronounce the double consonant ll in two ways:
[ l ] :(L sound): laugh, bill, Californie
[ j ] :(Y sound): you, tanya, coyote
ILL = [il]
After a vowel, double ll is pronounced [l] (like l in less or ball)
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
| salle | room |
| belle | beautiful |
| syllabe | syllable |
| voyelle | vowel |
| ballon | ball |
ill = /ij/ or /j/
The grapheme ill is pronounced with a [ij] or [j] depending on the context:
When preceded by a consonant, ill is pronounced [ij]:
famille, habiller, brillant
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
| la famille | family |
| la Bastille | Bastille |
| la cédille | cedilla (ç) |
| la chantilly | whipped cream |
| la fille | girl |
| la vanille | vanilla |
Exceptions to this rule are limited to mille, ville et tranquille which are pronounced with [il], as are their derivatives (million, village, tranquillement, etc.). The same rule applies to proper nouns (i.e., names of people and places): Gilles et Lille. This is the complete list (anything not listed here is pronounced [j]:
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
| un billion | trillion |
| distiller | to distill |
| tranquille | calm, tranquil |
| une ville (une villa, un village, etc.) | town |
| Achille | Achilles |
| -illaire | -ilary (suffix) |
| Lille | Lille (town in Nord) |
| Gilles | Gilles (person's name) |
| mille (un millénium, millier, etc.) | thousand |
| milli- (millimètre, milligramme, etc) | milli- (prefix) |
| un milliard (un milliardaire, le milliardième, etc.) | billion |
| un million (un millionaire, le millionième, etc.) | million |
When preceded by a vowel, ill is pronounced [j]:
taille, travailler, feuille, bouteille, grenouille
| Voyelles + ll | Français | Anglais |
|---|---|---|
| aill | la paille | straw |
| eill | la veille | night before |
| euill | la feuille | leaf |
| ouill | Bouillir | to boil |
| ueill | Cueillir | to gather |
| uill | la cuillère | spoon |
Let's practice!
Activity
Listen and repeat
A.
1. le / fille / bile / mille / pastille / vanille / gorille
2. facile / famille / utile / docile / billet / filet / fillette / maquiller
B.
1. fille / feuille / bille / aille / paille / famille
2. ville / Bastille / bouteille / oreille / tranquille / brillante / nouilles
3. grenouille / habiller / bouillon / travailler / réveiller
"The Letter L" by William Carrasco & Shahrzad Zahedi is licensed under CC BY 4.0 / The activity on this page is a derivative from Sons et lettres by Stephen Walton