Silent Letters & Final Consonants
خاموش حروف اور آخری consonants
French is full of silent letters. The most important rule: most FINAL consonants are NOT pronounced. Struck-through letters below are silent.
Tip
The CaReFuL rule: final C, R, F, L are USUALLY pronounced (sac, bonjour, neuf, hôtel). Almost all other final consonants (s, t, d, x, z, p, g) are silent. Final -e without accent is silent. Final -ER in verbs sounds 'ay' (the R is silent).
Spelling patterns
| Spelling | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
Words and letters
| French | Say it | Meaning | اردو | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vou[s] | voo | you | آپ | |
| Pari[s] | pa-ree | Paris | پیرس | |
| le{s} ami[s] | lay-za-mee | the friends | دوست | the S of 'les' IS heard (liaison, sounds like Z); the final S of 'amis' is silent |
| peti[t] | puh-tee | small | چھوٹا | |
| e[t] | ay | and | اور | |
| salu[t] | sa-lü | hi | ہیلو | |
| gran[d] | grahn | big | بڑا | |
| le pie[d] | pyay | foot | پاؤں | |
| deu[x] | duh | two | دو | |
| le pri[x] | pree | price | قیمت | |
| le ne[z] | nay | nose | ناک | |
| che[z] | shay | at the home of | کے گھر | |
| tro[p] | tro | too much | بہت زیادہ | |
| le lou[p] | loo | wolf | بھیڑیا | |
| blan[c] | blahn | white | سفید | exception: this C is silent |
| la tabl[e] | tabl | table | میز | |
| la femm[e] | fam | woman / wife | عورت / بیوی | irregular: 'e-mm' sounds 'a' |
| parl[er] | par-lay | to speak (-er = ay) | بولنا | |
| mang[er] | mahn-zhay | to eat | کھانا | |
| ils parl[ent] | eel parl | they speak (-ent silent) | وہ بولتے ہیں | |
| [h]abiter | a-bee-tay | to live (h silent) | رہنا | |
| le sac | sak | bag (C pronounced) | بیگ | |
| neuf | nuhf | nine (F pronounced) | نو | |
| l'hôtel | o-tel | hotel (L pronounced) | ہوٹل | |
| bonjour | bon-zhoor | hello (R pronounced) | سلام | |
| le fils | fees | son (exception: S pronounced, L silent) | بیٹا | |
| dix | dees | ten (exception: X = s) | دس | |
| six | sees | six (exception: X = s) | چھ |
Minimal pairs — hear the difference
| One | Other | Note |
|---|---|---|
| [object Object] | [object Object] | |
| [object Object] | [object Object] | |
| [object Object] | [object Object] | |
| [object Object] | [object Object] |