3.3: The Letter Q

French OER - Pronunciation · LibreTexts

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    From LibreTexts, under CC BY, as the source states it; its equations are written in TeX, which the PDF shows typeset. This page at LibreTexts.

    Objectifs

    In this section, you will learn how to pronounce the letter Q.

    Media Alternative

    Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.

    In the audio players, you can slow down the audio by clicking on the turtle and speed up by clicking on the rabbit. The turtle and rabbit are located at the bottom right corner of each audio player. 

    Watch the video tutorial about silent letters, then read the additional details below. 

    Here is the video's transcription.

    Let's study!

    The letter q is usually followed by the vowel u in French, unless it appears at the end of the word. When it is followed by the letter u, it is just pronounced like the letter k in English. This means that the u is silent most of the time.

    Here are examples of when the letter q appears at the end of a word. It's then pronounced like [k]

     

    cinq, coq

    Here are examples of words containing qu when the u is silent.

     

    pique-nique, quand, banque, quantité, pratiquement

    Here are exceptional cases where the qu sounds like [kw].

     

    adéquat, équateur, aquarium, aquarelle

    Let's practice!

    Activity

    Practice pronouncing these French words.

     

    1. quel
    2. qui
    3. cinq
    4. cinquante
    5. quinze
    6. pratiquer
    7. quelques
    8. quoique
    9. quatorze
    10. adéquat
    11. écologiquement
    12. presque

    3.3: The Letter Q is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.