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Liaison and Elision in French
Liaison and elision are the two rules that make French words flow into each other. Elision drops the final vowel of small words like le, je, ne before a vowel sound and writes an apostrophe in its place: le + avion → l’avion. Liaison is the mirror trick in speech: a normally silent final consonant is pronounced to link into the next word — les amis sounds like "lé-za-mi".
Both are triggered by the same thing, a following vowel sound, and both are blocked by the same troublemaker, the aspirated h. This page gives you the elision list, the required and forbidden liaisons, and the h test.
In short
- Elision changes the spelling: drop the vowel, write an apostrophe — le + avion → l’avion.
- Liaison changes only the sound: a silent final consonant is pronounced before a vowel — les amis = "lé-za-mi".
- Both happen before a vowel or mute h (l’hôtel), never before an aspirated h (le héros).
elision (apostrophe)liaison (linked sound)aspirated h (no link)· hover a highlighted word for its label
Elision: the vanishing vowel
Elision is never optional (rare exceptions: le onze novembre, le oui): when one of the main elision words below meets a vowel sound, its final vowel must go, and the apostrophe takes its place. Like the marks in french accents, the apostrophe is real spelling, not decoration. How l’ then behaves with nouns is the job of definite articles.
One word plays by a stricter rule: si elides only before il and ils — s’il, s’ils — and before nothing else. Si elle and si on keep the full si.
| Full word | Elided | Example |
|---|---|---|
| le / la | l’ | l’avion, l’hôtel |
| je | j’ | j’arrive |
| me / te | m’ / t’ | je m’appelle · je t’aime |
| ne | n’ | il n’ose pas |
| de | d’ | pas d’eau |
| que | qu’ | qu’elle dit |
| ce | c’ | c’est |
| se | s’ | il s’appelle |
| si (only before il, ils) | s’ | s’il pleut — but si elle vient |
He doesn’t have a computer.
— Both n’ and d’ surrender their vowel to the word that follows.
Ask him if he wants to come with us.
— s’il is the only elision si ever makes — before elle, si stays whole.
It’s true that she’s right.
— C’ and qu’ both elide because est and elle begin with vowels.
Liaison: the sleeping consonant
Written French is full of final consonants nobody pronounces: the s of les, the x of deux, the t of petit. Liaison wakes them up when the next word begins with a vowel sound. Three sounds do most of the work: s and x link as [z], t and d as [t], n as [n]. Unlike elision, liaison changes nothing on the page — only in your mouth.
Most of what falls outside the two lists below is a gray zone of optional liaisons — after est, after plural nouns, after longer adverbs. The honest rule: the more formal the situation, the more of them speakers make; relaxed conversation keeps only the required ones.
Liaisons you must make
- Determiner + noun: les amis, un homme, mes enfants
- Subject pronoun + verb: vous avez, ils ont, on est
- Short adjective or number + noun: petit appartement, deux heures, trois ans
- After the short prepositions en, dans, chez: en avril, dans un an, chez elle
Liaisons you must never make
- After et: un café et | un thé — the t of et never links
- Before an aspirated h: les | héros, les | haricots
- After a singular noun: un garçon | intelligent
- Before onze and oui: les | onze joueurs
The children are arriving in two hours.
— In Les enfants and deux heures, a silent final letter wakes up as [z] and glues the words together.
Do you have a friend who lives in Bordeaux?
— Vous avez links with a [z]; un ami links with an [n].
They live in a small apartment downtown.
— Ils habitent links in [z] and petit appartement in [t] — both liaisons are required.
Mute h vs aspirated h
No French h is ever pronounced, but the two kinds behave differently. A mute h is invisible to grammar: the word acts as if it started with a vowel, so elision and liaison both apply — l’hôtel, les hommes with a [z]. An aspirated h acts as a consonant wall: no elision, no liaison — le héros, les | haricots.
Spelling gives no clue; dictionaries mark the aspirated h with an asterisk or an apostrophe before the entry. Learn the common ones as chunks: le héros, le hibou, le haricot, le hasard.
The hero of the story is sleeping at the hotel.
— Aspirated Le héros keeps its full article; mute-h l’histoire and l’hôtel behave like vowels.
Common mistakes
✗Il fait froid pendant le hiver.
✓Il fait froid pendant l’hiver.
Hiver begins with a mute h, which counts as a vowel: the article must elide to l’.
✗Si il fait beau demain, on ira à la plage.
✓S’il fait beau demain, on ira à la plage.
Si must elide before il and ils — writing si il is a spelling error, not a stylistic option.
✗Je ne sais pas s’elle viendra ce soir.
✓Je ne sais pas si elle viendra ce soir.
Si elides only before il and ils. Before elle and every other word, si keeps its vowel.
Check yourself
1 / 4___ pleut, le concert aura lieu à l’intérieur.
2 / 4Je me demande ___ arrivera à temps. (elle)
3 / 4___ héros du film habite à Paris.
4 / 4In deux heures, the liaison consonant sounds like ___.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between liaison and elision?
Elision changes the spelling: a final vowel is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe (le + avion → l’avion). Liaison changes only the pronunciation: a silent final consonant is spoken before a vowel (les amis = "lé-za-mi") while the written words stay untouched.
Why do the French say s’il but si elle?
Si has a one-word exception rule: it elides only before il and ils — s’il vous plaît, s’ils veulent. Before every other word, even vowel-initial elle and on, si keeps its vowel: si elle vient, si on part.
How do I know if an h is mute or aspirated?
You cannot tell from the spelling — you have to check a dictionary, which marks the aspirated h with an asterisk or an apostrophe before the entry. Mute h behaves like a vowel (l’hôtel, l’homme); aspirated h blocks elision and liaison (le héros, le haricot, le hibou).
Do I have to make every liaison when I speak French?
No. Required liaisons — determiner + noun (les amis), pronoun + verb (vous avez) — must always be made, and forbidden ones (after et, before an aspirated h) never. The many optional liaisons in between are a register dial: more liaison sounds more formal.
Memory tip
One trigger, two fixes. A following vowel sound makes small words fix the collision in writing (l’avion, j’arrive, s’il) and makes silent consonants fix it in speech (les amis, deux heures). If the h is aspirated, neither fix applies: le héros.
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