French accent marks: sounds, spellings and useful examples

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read é, è, ê, ë and ç in familiar French words. Compare pronunciation clues with meaning changes in a/à and ou/où, then check your choices.

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In short

É usually signals /e/, as in été; è and ê commonly signal /ɛ/, as in mère and fête. Other marks distinguish written meanings, as in a/à and ou/où. An accent mark is a spelling clue rather than an instruction to stress that syllable.

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A mother preparing a garden table for a summer party.
The scene brings to life cet été, ma mère organise une fête. Illustration: Atelier

How do you pronounce é, è and ê?

A small sound-and-spelling map
MarkWordPronunciationMeaning
éété/e.te/summer
éclé/kle/key
éparlé/paʁ.le/spoken (past participle)
èmère/mɛʁ/mother
êfête/fɛt/party

Cet été, ma mère organise une fête.

This summer, my mother is organising a party.

Read the whole sentence smoothly. The marked letters in été, mère and fête guide vowel quality.

J’ai parlé à ma mère.

I spoke to my mother.

The past participle parlé ends in é. The preposition à introduces the person you spoke to.

For /e/, keep the mouth relatively closed; for /ɛ/, open it a little more. Practise été, then mère, then the full sentence. A circumflex has several jobs across French spelling: fête gives you a useful /ɛ/ example, while pâte and patte sound alike for many speakers and differ for others.

What does the tréma do in French?

NoëlChristmas

Focus: Two syllables: /nɔ.ɛl/. The tréma marks the separate reading of the vowel letters.

Nous passons Noël à Lyon.
We’re spending Christmas in Lyon.

naïf / naïvenaive

Focus: The a and i are read separately: /na.if/ and /na.iv/.

Cette question est un peu naïve.
That question is a little naive.

The two dots are called a tréma. Learn their effect with the complete word. For example, Noé also has two syllables, even though it has no tréma. The spelling gives you clues; the word supplies the full reading.

Which French words change meaning with an accent?

Choose by the job in the sentence
French sentenceEnglishWhat the accent marks
Il a une clé.He has a key.A is a form of avoir: has.
Il est à la maison.He is at home.À is a preposition: at.
Tu veux du thé ou du café ?Would you like tea or coffee?Ou offers a choice: or.
Où est le café ?Where is the café?Où asks for a place: where.

A and à both have /a/; ou and où both have /u/. Use the meaning to choose the spelling. Keep accents on capital letters too: Élodie, À bientôt ! and Où vas-tu ?

What does the cédille do in French?

Je commençais à huit heures. Nous commencions à huit heures.

I used to start at eight. We used to start at eight.

The cedilla keeps /s/ before a. Before i, plain c already has /s/. Compare garçon, which also keeps /s/ before o.

Question 1No account needed
Which word illustrates é with /e/?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

été. Both vowels in the word for summer use /e/, the common reading of the acute accent on e.

Question 2No account needed
Choose the preposition meaning “in” before a city.Élodie habite ___ Lyon.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

à. The place phrase takes the accented preposition. The unaccented option is a form of the verb meaning “to have”.

Question 3No account needed
Choose the word meaning “where”.___ est ma clé ?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Où. The accented word asks about a place; the unaccented word means “or” and links alternatives.

Question 4No account needed
What does the tréma help show in Noël?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The neighbouring vowel letters are read separately.. The word for Christmas has two syllables, /nɔ.ɛl/, with the vowel letters read separately.

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