L'intrus
Odd one out: silent final letters in French
Chat, riz, prix… sac? In each row, three final letters are silent and one is pronounced. Find it, and learn the CaReFuL rule behind it.
- A1
- 8 rows
- Find the odd one out
- Learn this in the A1 notebook →
In short
Most final consonants are silent in French (le chat, le riz, le prix), but *c, r, f, l are often pronounced (le sac, la mer, neuf, le sel). Remember the word CaReFuL. The big exception: -er verbs, where the r is silent (parler*).
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Tap the word that doesn't belong in each row.
Sac: you hear the c. In chat, riz, prix the final letter is silent.
Bus is pronounced with its s (a borrowed word). Bras, temps, nez end silently.
La clef is pronounced like clé: silent f. You hear the f in œuf, nerf, chef.
Tabac has a silent c, an exception to CaReFuL. You hear it in parc, lac, bac.
-er verbs have a silent r: parler sounds like parlé. Mer, fer, finir keep the r.
Short is borrowed from English, so the t is heard. Sport, fort, port end in a silent t.
Gros has a silent s. Fils and ours are exceptions where you hear the s, and hiver keeps its r.
Fusil (rifle) ends in a silent l. Sel, seul, mal follow CaReFuL.
Which French final letters are silent?
Final e without an accent is silent too, but it makes the consonant before it audible: grand (silent d) vs grande (you hear the d). That's how you hear masculine and feminine adjectives.
| Letter | Heard | Exception |
|---|---|---|
| c | le sac, avec | le tabac, le porc |
| r | la mer, finir | parler, le boulanger |
| f | neuf, le chef | la clef |
| l | le sel, avril | le fusil, gentil |
- le chat (with a t sound)le cha(t)
Silent t.
- parler (with an r sound)parlé
-er infinitives end in an é sound.