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French Accent Marks
French uses five accent marks: the accent aigu (é), the accent grave (è, à, ù), the circonflexe (ê, â, î, ô, û), the cédille (ç), and the tréma (ë, ï). They are not decoration: some change a letter’s sound, and some are the only thing separating two different words — a (has) and à (to) are as distinct to a French reader as "has" and "to" are to you.
The system is smaller than it looks: each mark has one clear job. This page walks through all five — their sounds, their look-alike word pairs, and the spots where English speakers most often drop them.
In short
- é = the closed [e] of café; è and ê = the open [ɛ] of "bed".
- à, ù, and often the circumflex don’t change the sound — they distinguish words: a/à, ou/où, sur/sûr.
- ç = soft "s" before a, o, u: garçon, français.
- ë, ï = pronounce the two vowels separately: Noël, maïs.
accent aigu (é)accent grave (è à ù)circonflexe (ê â î ô û)cédille (ç)tréma (ë ï)· hover a highlighted word for its label
Accent aigu: é
The accent aigu appears only on e and gives it the closed [e] sound — like the "ay" in "say", but short and pure, with no glide. It is the most common French accent: été, café, vélo, musée.
The past participle of every -er verb ends in -é, so this one small mark is often all that separates the present from the passé composé:
je parle (I speak) → j’ai parlé (I spoke)
We spent the summer at the seaside.
— Both passé and été end in the same closed [e] sound.
Léa decided to buy a bike.
— Say "ay" without the glide: décidé, vélo.
Accent grave: è — plus à and ù
On e, the grave accent opens the sound to [ɛ], like the "e" in "bed": mère, très, première. Many verbs swap e or é for è when the next syllable is silent — lever → je lève, préférer → je préfère — a spelling change covered in the present tense guide.
On a and u, the grave accent never changes the sound. Its main job is to tell identical-looking words apart on paper — and ù exists in exactly one French word: où.
| With the accent | Without |
|---|---|
| à — to, at | a — has (avoir) |
| où — where | ou — or |
| là — there | la — the, her |
My mother buys very fresh bread.
— Acheter takes è in this form because the ending -e is silent.
She has an appointment at noon.
— The accent is the whole difference: à means "at"; bare a is the verb avoir.
Where are you getting off — in Paris or in Lyon?
— où asks "where"; ou without the accent means "or".
Circonflexe: ê, â, î, ô, û
The circumflex can sit on any vowel, and it comes with the best memory hook in French spelling: it usually marks the spot where Old French had an s that later disappeared. English borrowed many of these words while the s was still there, so the English cousin still shows it.
| French | English cousin |
|---|---|
| hôpital | hospital |
| forêt | forest |
| île | isle, island |
| château | castle |
| hôtel | hostel |
The hospital is near the forest.
— English kept the s that French replaced with a hat.
I am sure he had to leave early.
— Without their accents, sur means "on" and du means "of the".
Cédille: ç
French c is naturally soft [s] before e and i (ce, merci) and hard [k] before a, o, u (café, culture). When a word needs the soft sound in front of a, o, or u, the cédille supplies it: français, garçon, reçu.
That is why ç never appears before e or i — the c is already soft there.
The boy received a postcard.
— Without the cédille, the c would harden to [k].
We start the French lesson at nine o’clock.
— The nous form of commencer needs ç to stay soft before -ons.
Tréma: ë, ï
When two vowels sit side by side, French normally merges them into one sound: ai says [ɛ], oi says [wa]. A tréma on the second vowel breaks the merge and orders both vowels pronounced separately:
mais (meh) → maïs (ma-EES)
This year, we are spending Christmas at my grandparents’ house.
— The tréma splits o and e into two syllables: No-ël.
His question was a bit naive.
— Say a and i separately: na-ive — the same split as in maïs.
Common mistakes
✗Le garcon joue dans le parc.
✓Le garçon joue dans le parc.
Before o, a plain c is hard [k] — "garcon" would read "gar-kon". The cédille keeps the s sound.
✗Elle va a Paris demain.
✓Elle va à Paris demain.
The preposition "to" takes the grave accent; bare a is the verb avoir ("has").
✗Je ne sais pas ou il habite.
✓Je ne sais pas où il habite.
Où with the accent means "where"; ou without it means "or".
✗Hier, j’ai parle à ma voisine.
✓Hier, j’ai parlé à ma voisine.
The past participle ends in -é and sounds [e]. Without the accent, it reads as the present form je parle.
✗Elle préfére le café.
✓Elle préfère le café.
When the following syllable is silent, the é before the ending opens to [ɛ] and is written è: je préfère, tu préfères.
Check yourself
1 / 5Le ___ apprend le français à l’école. (boy)
2 / 5Elle habite ___ Bordeaux.
3 / 5Hier soir, j’ai ___ deux heures au téléphone. (parler)
4 / 5Tu veux du thé ___ du café ?
5 / 5Il travaille à l’___ depuis le mois de mars.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between é and è in French?
They are two different sounds on the same letter. É (accent aigu) is the closed [e] of café — "ay" without the glide — while è (accent grave) is the open [ɛ] of English "bed", as in mère or très.
Are French accents optional?
No. Accents are part of the spelling: they change pronunciation (parle vs parlé) and meaning (a "has" vs à "to", ou "or" vs où "where"). Leaving them off is a spelling mistake, not a style choice.
Do French accents go on capital letters?
Officially yes — the Académie française recommends keeping them: État, À bientôt. They are often dropped in informal writing and on some signs, but careful writing keeps them, because É and E can distinguish words.
How do I type French accents on an English keyboard?
On phones and on a Mac, long-press the letter and pick the accented version. On Windows, use Alt codes (Alt+0233 gives é) or the US-International layout, where an apostrophe followed by e gives é. Most systems also offer a French keyboard layout in the settings.
Memory tip
The circumflex is a little hat marking where an s fell out — find it in the English cousin: forêt/forest, hôpital/hospital. For é vs è, say café, then mère: é closes the mouth, è opens it.
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