French alphabet for kids l'alphabet

French alphabet chart with pictures

26 letters · tap 🔊 to hear each one.

Picture	Letter	Word	Meaning	Listen
	A	avion	airplane	🔊
	B	ballon	balloon	🔊
	C	chat	cat	🔊
	D	dauphin	dolphin	🔊
	E	éléphant	elephant	🔊
	F	fraise	strawberry	🔊
	G	girafe	giraffe	🔊
	H	hibou	owl	🔊
	I	île	island	🔊
	J	jean	jeans	🔊
	K	koala	koala	🔊
	L	lion	lion	🔊
	M	mouton	sheep	🔊
	N	nuage	cloud	🔊
	O	orange	orange	🔊
	P	pomme	apple	🔊
	Q	quille	bowling pin	🔊
	R	renard	fox	🔊
	S	soleil	sun	🔊
	T	tortue	turtle	🔊
	U	usine	factory	🔊
	V	vache	cow	🔊
	W	wagon	railway car	🔊
	X	xylophone	xylophone	🔊
	Y	yoyo	yo-yo	🔊
	Z	zèbre	zebra	🔊

The French alphabet for kids uses the same 26 letters as English, but almost every letter sounds different, and that is what makes it fun. On this page each letter has a picture word chosen for young children, from A comme avion (A for aeroplane) to Z comme zèbre. Tap a card to hear the letter and its word in clear French audio, then switch to Find it and let Golu ask for letters one by one.

The letter cards: A comme avion

French children say "A comme..." ("A as in...") when they learn letters, and the cards follow that tradition: avion, ballon, chat, dauphin, éléphant, fraise, girafe, hibou, île, jean, koala, lion, mouton, nuage, orange, pomme, quille, renard, soleil, tortue, usine, vache, wagon, xylophone, yoyo, zèbre. Some are nice surprises for English speakers: hibou is an owl, quille a skittle or bowling pin, usine a factory and wagon a railway carriage. W, K and Y appear mostly in borrowed words, which is true in everyday French too.

How to pronounce the French letter names

Letter names are the first thing to get used to. Here are the ones that most often trip up English-speaking families:

The G/J swap is the classic mix-up. Play a little game: G comme girafe, J comme jean, and let your child say which one they hear.

Accents and the little extras

French letters can wear accents, and children love them like hats. é (accent aigu) sounds like "ay", as in éléphant. è (accent grave) and ê (accent circonflexe) sound like the "e" in "bed", as in zèbre and fête. The ç (c cédille) makes a c sound like s, as in garçon. Accents are not separate letters, so the French alphabet still has 26, but they change the sound, so point them out when you read together.

Vowels, silent letters and sounds

French has six vowel letters, a, e, i, o, u, y, which teachers call les voyelles. Many letters at the end of words are silent: the t in chat, the s in souris. The h is always silent, so hibou begins with an "ee" sound. In maternelle, teachers separate a letter's name from its sound: the letter "em" makes a "mmm" sound. Once your child is four or five, play "What sound does it start with?" using the picture cards: mmm-mouton, sss-soleil.

How letters are taught in the école maternelle

French nursery schools introduce letters slowly. In petite section (3-4), children recognise their first name, often written on a label with their photo. In moyenne section (4-5), they learn capital letters, les capitales d'imprimerie, and play with sounds and rhymes. In grande section (5-6), they start joined-up cursive writing, l'écriture cursive, which French schools use from the start rather than print. Reading properly begins at six, in CP. There is no rush: an alphabet game like this one supports that slow, playful path.

A simple alphabet plan by age

At 2-3, enjoy the pictures and sounds and say the words, not the letters. At 3-4, learn the letters in your child's name and sing the alphabet song. At 4-5, play Find it with six to ten letters at a time, and hunt for letters on cereal boxes and shop signs. At 5-6, match letters to sounds and try the first syllables: ma, pa, la. Keep sessions to five or ten minutes and praise effort: "You found the G all by yourself!"

Sing « la chanson de l'alphabet » to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", the same tune as the English ABC song. It helps children hear the new letter names in a familiar melody.

Compare with the English letters on the ABCD page, or with the Spanish alphabet. Many of the picture words appear again in animals in French. You can print this page from your browser to get a simple alphabet chart.

L'alphabet à la maison

L'alphabet français compte vingt-six lettres. Commencez par les lettres du prénom de votre enfant : c'est son alphabet à lui. Cherchez-les ensuite dans les livres, sur les affiches et sur les boîtes de céréales.

Chantez la chanson de l'alphabet en voiture ou dans le bain. Jouez à « J'entends, j'entends… le son sss ! » et laissez votre enfant trouver le soleil ou le serpent. Chaque petite victoire mérite un bravo.

How to use this page at home

Say it, then find it

Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: french words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.

Ten minutes is enough

Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.

Use both languages

Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.