French liaison explained: why les amis has a z sound
Compare les livres and les amis, learn two everyday liaison patterns, and tell linking apart from elision and enchaînement with simple examples and a quiz.
In short
In les amis, the normally silent final s of les is pronounced /z/ before amis: [le.za.mi]. This is liaison. Start with two useful patterns: les amis (the friends) and vous avez (you have).
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
What is liaison in French?
les livresthe books
Focus: The next word starts with /l/, so les has no linking consonant.
[le livʁ]
Les livres sont ici.
The books are here.
les amisthe friends
Focus: The article and vowel-initial noun join with /z/.
[le.za.mi]
Les amis sont ici.
The friends are here.
Keep the spelling as two words. The /z/ belongs to the connection between them; you hear it at the start of the next syllable. You can say les amis as three syllables, [le.za.mi]. A useful first step is to recognise the whole phrase, then reuse that connection with another familiar word: les enfants.
| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Article + noun | les enfants | the children |
| Article + noun | des amis | some friends |
| Subject pronoun + verb | nous avons | we have |
| Subject pronoun + verb | vous allez | you go / you are going |
| Subject pronoun + verb | ils ont | they have |
Nous avons des amis à Lyon.
We have friends in Lyon.
There is /z/ in nous avons and another /z/ in des amis. Say each pair smoothly, then put the sentence together.
What is the difference between liaison, enchaînement and elision?
| Phrase | Process | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| les amis | Liaison | A normally silent consonant appears: /z/. |
| elle arrive | Enchaînement | The /l/ already in elle joins the next vowel. |
| l’amie | Elision | The vowel of la disappears; the apostrophe shows it. |
When is liaison forbidden in French?
Paul et Anne arrivent.
Paul and Anne are arriving.
Keep et Anne free of an added /t/. The conjunction et blocks liaison.
Les haricots sont prêts.
The beans are ready.
Haricots has h aspiré: no /h/ is sounded, but it blocks the /z/ link after les.
A following vowel is your cue to look at the phrase, rather than pronounce every final letter. Learn the required links above first. Later, you will meet optional links, such as the one after suis in je suis étudiant, whose use changes with the style of speech.