The letter “c” can be pronounced in two different ways in French. It can be hard, like the first “c” in the word “coriace,” meaning “tough,” “leathery,” or “hard-headed,” pronounced [KOH REE AHSS]. Or it can be soft, like the last “c” in “coriace.” How do you know whether a “c” will be hard or soft?

Hard “c”

The letter “c” is always hard before the letters “a,” “o” and “u” in French.

• cabine – une cabine = a cabin [KAH BEEN]
• cochon d’Inde – un cochon d’Inde = a guinea pig [KOH SHON DAND] (silent “n”)
• cuire – to cook [KU EER]

Soft “c”

The letter “g” is always soft before the letter “e,” “i” and “y” in French. It sounds the same as the letter “j” in French.

• cépage – le cépage = “the grape variety” (eg Merlot) [SAY PAHJ]
• cire – la cire = “the wax” [SEER]
• Annecy – a town in south-eastern France [UNN SEE]

Softening a hard “c”

If a “c” needs to be softened, a cedilla (une cédille) is added to it. For example, in the verb “commencer,” the “c” is always soft. But if the nous form were spelled “nous commencons,” the second “c” would also be hard, which is not correct here. So the nous form is spelled “nous commençons” to provide an appropriately soft “c” that matches the other parts of the conjugation.

• je commence
• tu commences
• il commence
• nous commençons
• vous commencez
• ils commencent