La liaison / Linking words

La liaison is when you pronounce the final consonant of a word together with the vowel at the beginning of the next word. Many French words end with silent consonants, but when the next word starts with a vowel or silent “h”, that consonant comes alive and links to the next word—making French sound smooth and connected.

Example:

• les amis [lez‿ami] – the friends
• The “s” in “les” connects to “amis”

Common Liaison Consonants

Letter	Sound	Example	Pronunciation
s, x	[z]	les enfants	[lez‿ɑ̃fɑ̃]
n	[n]	un ami	[œ̃n‿ami]
t, d	[t]	petit ami	[pəti‿t‿ami]

Required Liaisons (Obligatoires)

You must make the liaison in these cases:

1. Article + Noun

• les amis [lez‿ami] – the friends
• un enfant [œ̃n‿ɑ̃fɑ̃] – a child
• des oranges [dez‿orɑ̃ʒ] – some oranges
• les étudiants [lez‿etydjɑ̃] – the students

2. Number + Noun

• deux enfants [døz‿ɑ̃fɑ̃] – two children
• trois amis [trwaz‿ami] – three friends
• six heures [siz‿œr] – six o’clock

3. Adjective + Noun

• petit ami [pəti‿t‿ami] – boyfriend
• grand homme [grɑ̃t‿ɔm] – great man
• bon ami [bɔn‿ami] – good friend

4. Subject Pronoun + Verb

• ils ont [ilz‿ɔ̃] – they have
• nous aimons [nuz‿ɛmɔ̃] – we love
• vous êtes [vuz‿ɛt] – you are
• on a [ɔ̃n‿a] – one has / we have

5. Common Expressions

• Comment allez-vous? [kɔmɑ̃t‿ale vu] – How are you?
• C’est un ami. [sɛt‿œ̃n‿ami] – He’s a friend.
• tout à coup [tut‿a ku] – suddenly

Forbidden Liaisons (Interdites)

You must not make the liaison in these cases:

1. After “et” (and)

• Paul et Anne [pɔl e an] – Paul and Anne ❌

2. Before “h aspiré” (aspirated h)

• les haricots [le ariko] – the beans ❌
• les héros [le ero] – the heroes ❌

3. After a singular noun

• un enfant adorable [œ̃n‿ɑ̃fɑ̃ adɔrabl] – an adorable child ❌

Practice Sentences

Read these sentences aloud, making the liaisons marked with ‿:

1. Ils arrivent à huit heures.
   [ilz‿ariv a ɥit‿œʁ]
   They arrive at eight o’clock.
2. Nous avons des amis en Italie.
   [nuz‿avɔ̃ dez‿ami ɑ̃n‿itali]
   We have friends in Italy.
3. C’est un petit appartement.
   [sɛt‿œ̃ pəti‿t‿apaʁtəmɑ̃]
   It’s a small apartment.
4. Vous êtes très aimable.
   [vuz‿ɛt tʁɛz‿ɛmabl]
   You are very kind.
5. Les enfants ont un chat.
   [lez‿ɑ̃fɑ̃ ɔ̃t‿œ̃ ʃa]
   The children have a cat.

Exercise: Mark the Liaisons

Identify where liaison occurs in these phrases and write the pronunciation:

1. les amis → _______
2. un enfant → _______
3. nous avons → _______
4. trois heures → _______
5. petit ami → _______

Answers

1. les amis [lez‿ami] — s→z links to “amis”
2. un enfant [œ̃n‿ɑ̃fɑ̃] — n links to “enfant”
3. nous avons [nuz‿avɔ̃] — s→z links to “avons”
4. trois heures [tʁwaz‿œʁ] — s→z links to “heures”
5. petit ami [pəti‿t‿ami] — t links to “ami”