With MOST French words, you don't pronounce the last letter of the word.
Here are some words where you DO pronounce the last letter of the word.
There is no logical way to know which final letters are pronounced or are not in French.
But, it’s safe to say that these are pronounced:
Vowels at the end of the word (except unaccented E)
Most words ending in C, R, L or F
allô - hello, on telephone
amer - bitter
août - August (most people pronounce the T, although the dictionary says not to)
as - ace
autobus avec - with
avril - April
bac - ferry boat, high school diploma
bec - beak
bloc - block
boeuf - beef
bol - bowl
Brésil - Brazil
brut - rough
cap - cape, as in Cape Cod
car - intercity bus
chef - (the F is pronounced, and in compound words too,
such as chef d’orchestre)
cher - expensive
cheval - horse
choc - shock
cil - eyelash
clair - clear
concept direct donc - therefore
dû - due
du - of the
est - East (all letters pronounced)
fait - fact, as in le fait, au fait – In fact
fer - iron
fier - proud
fil de fer - wire
fil - string
fils - son (but the l is not sounded) sounds like fisse
flic - cop
gaz - gas (not gasoline)
grec - greek
hier - yesterday
hiver - winter
la - the
là - there
lis - lily
mal - evil, badly
mars - March
mec - guy, boyfriend
mer - sea
miel - honey
négatif net - clean, clear
ouest - West
ours - bear
parc - park
péril pic - peak
plus - when it means more, as in au plus at the most
positif sac - bag
sec - dry
sel - salt
sens - sense, direction. Both "S's" are like "S" in send.
slip - underpant
soif - thirst
strict sud - South
sur - on
taxi tennis tour - tower
tous - everyone. the “S” is pronounced when this is a pronoun.
troc - swap, barter
truc - trick, thing
venir - to come and other infinitives ending in -ir
vif - lively
zinc - zinc, counter top (the C sounds like a G)
When you start learning French one of the first things that you learn is is that the last letter of most words is not pronounced.
But there are many words where the last letter IS pronounced.
Here are some of the most common words, plus some general guidelines.
There is no way to know beforehand which final letters are pronounced or are not in French.
You have to consult a dictionary, ask a French person, or read this page.
But, it’s safe to say that these are pronounced:
Vowels at the end of the word (except unaccented E)
Most words ending in C, R, L or F