To spell in French, you will just say the names of the letters of the French alphabet one after the other.
Paris – p – a – r – i – s
How do you Spell Letters in French
Here is how you’d spell the letters in French.
I’ve recorded the whole French alphabet for you. I left just enough time for you to repeat out loud.
Please press on the audio player to hear my recording of the French alphabet.
a, b, c, d, e f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o ,p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.
I’ve actually written a whole free French lesson about the French alphabet, with audio recordings. Follow the link to know more!
How do you Spell Accents in French
When spelling a French letter with an accent, you have several ways of saying it:
- Hélène – h – e accent aigu – l – e accent grave – n – e – this would be quite formal.
- Hélène – h é l è n e – pronouncing clearly the letter with the accent sound is common when spelling in an informal situation.
More about spelling special French characters and accent in my how to type French accents lesson.
Spelling double consonants in French
When spelling a word with a double consonant, we simply say the French number deux + the consonant name.
Camille – c – a – m – i – deux l – e
Spelling Apostrophe in French
If you were to spell a word with an apostrophe in French, here is what you’d say:
J’aime – j apostrophe – a – i – m – e
How do you say Uppercase and Lowercase in French?
Knowing these two words may be useful when spelling in French:
- uppercase in French is une majuscule
- lowercase in French is une minuscule
How do you say Apostrophe in French?
Apostrophe in French is the same word, with a very different pronunciation. “Une apostrophe“. It’s a feminine word.
To spell a letter with an apostrophe, you’ll say the name of the French letter followed by the word “apostrophe” and then the following letter.
J’aime – j apostrophe a i m e.
How do you spell Punctuation in French?
First, let’s review the names of the French punctuation words in French as well as other words useful when spelling or dictating in French.
French Punctuation mark | English Name | French Name |
, | comma | la virgule |
. | period | le point |
: | colon | deux points |
; | semi colon | le point virgule |
… | ellipsis | les points de suspension |
! | exclamation mark | le point d’exclamation |
? | question mark | le point d’interrogation |
«» | quotation marks | les guillemets (m) |
– | hyphen | le trait-d’union |
‘ | apostrophe | une apostrophe |
I’ve written a whole free lesson about typing punctuation marks in French: the spaces we type in French and English are different…
How to Dictate in French
French Dictation Terms
When you dictate in French, on top of dictating French punctuation marks and French words, you’ll need to give a few basic directions. Here are some useful additional vocabulary for dictating in French
English Name | French Name |
return | à la ligne |
new paragraph | nouveau paragraphe |
title | le titre |
subtitle | le sous-titre |
French Dictation Example
Ok let’s see how you would dictate this text in French.
« Bonjour ! dit Sophie. Tu vas bien ?
— Bien. Et toi ? répond Anne.
— Très bien, merci ! »
Ouvrez les guillemets
B majuscule Bonjour point d’exclamation dit Sophie point
T majuscule Tu vas bien point d’interrogation
À la ligne tiret long B majuscule bien point
E majuscule et toi point d’interrogation répond Anne point
À la ligne tiret long T majuscule très bien virgule merci point d’exclamation
Fermez les guillemets.
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