French Liaison & Linking

Why does les amis sound like “lay-zami”? French links words together — and changes some sounds when it does. Tap any example to hear the link. These are the rules, and the exceptions.

Speed:
The rule

A normally-silent final consonant is pronounced when the next word begins with a vowel sound (or a mute h), and links onto it. Some change sound: s, x, z → /z/, d → /t/, f → /v/; t and n keep theirs.

les‿amis -s → z a silent -s links as /z/
deux‿ans -x → z a silent -x links as /z/
trois‿heures -s → z links onto the mute h of 'heures'
un grand‿homme -d → t a silent -d links as /t/
quand‿il -d → t -d becomes a /t/ sound
un petit‿ami -t → t a silent -t links as /t/
un‿ami -n → n the -n links; the vowel de-nasalises
mon‿oncle -n → n -n links as /n/
neuf‿ans -f → v 'neuf' → 'neuv' before a vowel
neuf‿heures -f → v only in 'neuf ans' / 'neuf heures'
trop‿aimable -p → p a silent -p links as /p/ (rarer)
premier‿étage -r → r the -r links onto the vowel
The rule

Make the liaison inside a tight word group — when the words belong together grammatically: an article, adjective or pronoun with what follows, after short prepositions and adverbs, after est, and in set phrases.

Determiner + noun

les‿enfants article + noun always link a determiner to its noun
un‿arbre article + noun un / des / ces + vowel
ces‿écoles article + noun -s of 'ces' links as /z/
deux‿euros number + noun numbers link to the noun
mon‿ami possessive + noun mon / ton / son + vowel
quels‿amis determiner + noun -s links as /z/

Adjective + noun

un petit‿ami adjective + noun a preceding adjective links to its noun
un grand‿arbre adjective + noun -d links as /t/
un bon‿élève adjective + noun -n links as /n/
un gros‿avion adjective + noun -s links as /z/
le premier‿étage adjective + noun -r links onto the vowel

Pronoun + verb (and inversion)

nous‿avons pronoun + verb subject pronoun links to its verb
vous‿êtes pronoun + verb -s links as /z/
ils‿ont pronoun + verb -s links as /z/ (ils ont ≠ ils sont)
elles‿aiment pronoun + verb -s links as /z/
on‿arrive pronoun + verb -n links as /n/
sont-elles‿? verb + pronoun in inversion, -t links

Short prepositions & adverbs

en‿avion preposition + word short prepositions always link
dans‿un an preposition + word -s links as /z/
chez‿elle preposition + word -z links as /z/
sans‿argent preposition + word -s links as /z/
très‿important adverb + word 'très' links as /z/
bien‿entendu adverb + word -n links as /n/

After c’est / est

c'est‿un ami after 'c'est' 'est' always links
il est‿ici after 'est' -t links as /t/

Fixed expressions

tout‿à fait fixed phrase set expression — always linked
de temps‿en temps fixed phrase 'from time to time'
comment‿allez-vous fixed phrase the one 'comment' liaison
petit‿à petit fixed phrase 'little by little'
les États‿-Unis fixed phrase 'the United States'
Exceptions — never link

No liaison after et (and), after a singular or proper noun, before an aspirated h, or before onze, huit, oui. The words stay separate.

un livre et | un stylo ✗ after 'et' never link after 'et' (and)
un étudiant | intelligent ✗ singular noun no liaison after a singular noun
le repas | est prêt ✗ singular noun + verb no liaison after a singular noun
les | héros ✗ aspirated h an aspirated h blocks liaison
en | haut ✗ aspirated h 'haut' begins with an aspirated h
les | haricots ✗ aspirated h 'haricot' blocks the /z/ link
les | onze joueurs ✗ before 'onze' 'onze' and 'huit' block liaison
un | oui ✗ before 'oui' 'oui' blocks liaison
Paris | est belle ✗ after a name no liaison after a proper noun
comment | ils vont ✗ after 'comment' except the set 'comment allez-vous'
The rule

Before a vowel or mute h, small words drop their final vowel and take an apostrophe: le/la → l’, je → j’, de → d’, que → qu’, ne → n’, ce → c’, si → s’ (only before il/ils).

Elision in action

l'ami le/la → l' before a vowel, le/la become l'
l'école la → l' la → l' before a vowel
j'aime je → j' je → j' before a vowel
d'accord de → d' de → d'
qu'il que → qu' que → qu'
n'est pas ne → n' ne → n'
c'est ce → c' ce → c'
s'il vous plaît si → s' si → s' only before il/ils

Mute h — links & elides

Rule

A mute h behaves like a vowel — liaison and elision happen normally.

l'homme mute h elides: le → l'
l'hôtel mute h elides before a mute h
les‿hommes mute h liaison works: /z/ link
l'heure mute h elides: la → l'
un‿hôpital mute h liaison works: /n/ link

Aspirated h — blocks both

Exception

An aspirated h behaves like a consonant — it blocks both liaison and elision. These words are memorised.

le héros aspirated h no elision: 'le', not 'l''
la honte aspirated h no elision: stays 'la'
le haricot aspirated h no liaison, no elision
le hibou aspirated h stays 'le hibou'
en | haut aspirated h no liaison before 'haut'

What is liaison?

A liaison is when a final consonant that is normally silent gets pronounced because the next word begins with a vowel sound. So les on its own is “lay,” but les amis is “lay-zami” — the silent -s wakes up as a /z/ and links onto the next word. Some consonants change sound in liaison: s, x, z → /z/, d → /t/, f → /v/, while t and n keep their sound.

Liaison vs. enchaînement

They sound similar but differ: liaison revives a silent letter (les amis), while enchaînement simply carries an already-pronounced final consonant onto the next vowel — as in elle aime (“e-llem”) or avec elle. Both make French flow as one smooth stream of sound.

The two kinds of h

French h is always silent, but it comes in two types. A mute h (h muet) behaves like a vowel: it allows elision and liaison — l’homme, les hommes. An aspirated h (h aspiré) acts like a consonant barrier: no elision, no liaison — le héros, les haricots. There’s no way to hear the difference in the h itself; you learn which words are aspirated (often words of Germanic or foreign origin).

Frequently asked questions

When is liaison required?

The main obligatory cases are: determiner + noun (les enfants), adjective + noun (petit ami), subject pronoun + verb (nous avons), after short prepositions/adverbs (en avion, très important), after est (c’est un ami), and in fixed phrases (tout à fait).

When is liaison forbidden?

Never link after et (and), after a singular noun, after a proper noun, before an aspirated h (les héros), or before onze, huit, and oui.

How does the -s sound in liaison?

A linking -s (or -x, -z) is pronounced as a /z/, not /s/ — so les amis is “lay-zami” and deux euros is “deu-zeuros.”

What’s the difference between a mute h and an aspirated h?

A mute h lets words link and elide (l’hôtel, les hôtels). An aspirated h blocks both (le héros, les | héros). It’s a property of the word you memorise, not a sound you hear.