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French Liaisons: When Are They Mandatory or Forbidden?

French Liaisons: When Are They Mandatory or Forbidden?

A liaison in French means pronouncing the final consonant of a word, usually silent, in order to link it to the following word when that word begins with a vowel.

English, as you may have noticed, does not have liaison. Liaison (or “linking”) refers to the process by which the final consonant sound of a word is carried over to the beginning of a following word that starts with a vowel sound. This creates a new syllable with a consonant + vowel structure, which is extremely common in French (about 50% of syllables). Don’t panic! In this article, we explain when to make a liaison, when to avoid it, and why it matters.

French Liaisons: Where Should You Start?

Liaisons are one of those concepts that can intimidate people who are just beginning to learn French. Silent letters, numerous and sometimes puzzling, can feel unnecessary at first, but they can be mastered. 

When learners don’t understand how liaisons work, several skills may be affected: 

  • Listening comprehension, 
  • Pronunciation, 
  • Recognizing vocabulary, they have already learned. 

Indeed, consonants once considered silent suddenly become audible and connect words together, sometimes making spoken French difficult to segment. So how can you make sense of it all? The guidelines in this article will help you take an essential first step. 

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The Different Types of Liaisons in French

There are three types of liaisons: 

  • Mandatory liaisons,

  • Forbidden liaisons,

  • Optional liaisons.

If you sometimes feel like you can no longer recognize words you’ve carefully learned, that’s completely normal. Liaisons are so natural for native speakers that they often erase word boundaries. 

When learning a language, imitation is just as important as theory. Alongside grammatical rules, observe and listen to: 

  • your teachers and tutors, 
  • television, 
  • radio, 
  • podcasts and videos in French. 

With a bit of theory and plenty of listening, your ear will quickly become more attuned to French pronunciation. 

Mandatory Liaisons

A mandatory liaison must always be pronounced, regardless of register. Even in informal spoken varieties of French, these liaisons are respected. Here are the most common situations.

🔹 Determiner + noun (or adjective + noun)

  • Les amis → (prononcé : les zamis)
  • Mes amis → (prononcé : mes zamis)
  • Quels adorables enfants ! → (prononcé : quel zadorable zenfant)

🔹 Adjective placed before the noun

  • Un gros arbre → (prononcé : gro zarbre)

🔹 Pronoun + verb / two pronouns

  • Vous avez bonne mine → (prononcé : vou zavez bonne mine)
  • Allez-vous-en ! → (prononcé : allez-vou-zen)

🔹 One-syllable preposition + following word

  • Dans une heure → (prononcé : appelez-moi dan zunneure)

🔹 Adverb + adjective (except -ment adverbs)

  • Bien honnête → (prononcé : bien nonnête)

🔹 Certain fixed expressions and compound words

  • Petit à petit → (prononcé : peti tà peti)
  • Porc-épic → (prononcé : porképique)

 

Forbidden Liaisons

Some liaisons are incorrect, even though you may hear them occasionally. That’s why it’s just as important to know when not to make a liaison.

🔹After a pause or punctuation

  • Hommes, femmes, enfants, tout le monde debout !
    No liaison

🔹After the conjunction “et” (“and”)

  • Un garçon et une fille
    No liaison

🔹After a singular noun

  • Cet enfant est très impoli
    No liaison

🔹Before words starting with y or the sound [wi] 

  • Ces yogourts
  • Un ouistiti

Exception: ouïe, ouïr

🔹In certain plural compound nouns

  • Deux arcs-en-ciel → (prononcé : deu zarkenciel)

🔹After certain prepositions

  • Selon une experte reconnue
    No liaison

🔹With the “s” of tu (present or subjunctive)

  • Tu pars immédiatement
    No liaison

🔹Before an aspirated “h”

  • Des héros ne se prononce pas dè zéros.
    Although the aspirated h is not pronounced in French, it prohibits liaison (and also elision). To find out if an h is aspirated, consult a dictionary or see the list of words with an aspirated h in this link.

 

Optional Liaisons

Some liaisons may be pronounced or not, depending on:

  • the level of formality,
  • the context,
  • the speaker’s habits.

They are often heard: 

  • between a plural noun and what follows,
  • in formal speech,
  • with the auxiliaries avoir and être.

To avoid mistakes, especially at the beginning, focus on mandatory liaisons first. 

Also watch out for invented liaisons, such as with vingt or cent: 

  • vingt oiseaux → (prononcé vin zoiseau) ❌ 
  • vingt oiseaux → (prononcé vin oiseau) ✅

Rule to remember: no liaison if the number is not multiplied. 

In Summary

Liaisons require time, careful listening, and repetition. But with practice, they become natural, one liaison at a time. Repeat, listen, imitate… and one day, no one will guess that French is not your first language.

How LRDG Can help you?

Would you like to improve your French pronunciation and listening skills?

At LRDG, our tutors support you step by step with personalized lessons adapted to your level.