If you’ve started learning French, you’ve probably noticed this:

You read a long, beautiful French word, but when a native speaker says it out loud, half of the letters seem to magically disappear.

This is because of lettres muettes (silent letters).

In English, you also have silent letters (like the “k” in “know”), but in French, they’re everywhere.

There are very predictable rules for these silent letters. Once you learn them, reading and speaking French becomes so much easier.

Let’s look at the most common silent letters in French that you need to stop pronouncing today.

The letter h

Let’s start with the easiest rule in the entire French language: the letter “h” is never pronounced.

It doesn’t matter if the “h” is at the beginning of a word, in the middle, or at the end. It’s completely silent. You simply pretend it isn’t there and pronounce the vowel that comes right after it.

You might hear French teachers talk about the h muet (mute h) and the h aspiré (aspirated h). Don’t let these terms confuse you! Both are completely silent. The only difference is that the h aspiré doesn’t allow you to connect the word before it (liaison), but it still makes absolutely no sound.

The final e

If you see an “e” at the very end of a French word, and it doesn’t have an accent mark (like é, è, or ê), you should generally not pronounce it.

This silent “e” is used heavily in French grammar to make adjectives feminine, but it doesn’t add a new syllable to the word. Instead, it tells you to pronounce the consonant right before it.

In the word petite (small), the final “e” is silent, but it makes us pronounce the “t” right before it. If it were the masculine word petit, both the “e” and the “t” would be gone!

A quick note on regional variations: If you travel to the South of France (regions like Provence or Toulouse), you’ll notice something different! In the Southern French accent, locals often pronounce the final “e” with a soft “uh” sound. So une baguette sounds a bit like “une baguette-uh”. But for standard French, keep it silent!

The final s

In English, we pronounce the “s” at the end of plural words (like “cats” or “dogs”).

In French, we also add an “s” to make words plural. However, the plural “s” is silent!

Notice how chats (cats) and noirs (black) end in “s”, but you don’t hear them at all.

The letter “s” is also found at the end of many verb conjugations, especially for the tu (you) form. This “s” is also completely silent.

Exception: The only time you’ll hear this final “s” is during a liaison. If the next word starts with a vowel or a silent h, the sleeping “s” wakes up and makes a “z” sound to connect the words. For example, les amis (the friends) is pronounced “lay-zah-mee”.

The final t

The letter “t” is another very common consonant when it comes to silent endings. If a French word ends in a “t”, you should almost always ignore it.

This applies to common nouns, adjectives, and very common linking words like et (and).

Just like the letter “s”, the final “t” can wake up for a liaison if the next word starts with a vowel, connecting with a hard “t” sound. For example, un petit oiseau (a small bird) sounds like “uh puh-tee-twah-zo”.

However, the word et (and) is a strict exception. You never make a liaison with the word et.

The final d

Finally, we have the letter “d”. When it appears at the end of a word, it stays completely quiet.

You’ll see this very often with masculine adjectives and nouns.

If you want to pronounce the “d” in these words, you have to make them feminine by adding an “e” to the end (like grande or blonde). But if there’s no “e”, keep your lips sealed for the “d”!

Bonus tip: the CaReFuL rule

So, if all of these consonants are silent at the end of French words, are any consonants pronounced at the end of words?

Yes! A great trick to remember which final consonants are actually pronounced is the CaReFuL rule.

If a French word ends in C, R, F, or L, you usually pronounce it. If it ends in any other consonant (like S, T, D, P, X), it’s usually silent.

Here are some examples of the CaReFuL letters being pronounced at the end of words:

(Note: Words ending in “er” like verbs such as “parler” or “manger” are an exception to the R rule. The “er” ending sounds like “ay”, making the R silent).

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Learning to ignore letters while reading can feel unnatural at first.

But if you remember to drop the h everywhere, and silence your final e, s, t, and d, your French accent will immediately sound much more authentic.

To keep improving your French, check out my other related guides:

• How to improve your French listening comprehension
• The most common French phrases for beginners
• Understanding French verb conjugations