A common pronunciation mistake by French learners is the letter “x” and the letter combination “ex.” To fix these mistakes, we need to start at with the French alphabet and the letter “x.”

In French, “x” in the alphabet is not pronounced EX like it is in English. Instead, it is pronounced EEKS. That’s important if you’re spelling out a word, or if you want to talk about the site that used to be known as Twitter, or if you’re referring to a product that has an X in its name (eg Super Nettoyant X).

When it comes to “ex,” as in “ex wife” in English, this is pronounced the same in both languages (ECKS). So “ex wife” would be “ex-femme” in French, pronounced ECKS FUM.

But when “ex” is part of a whole word, rather than just a prefix meaning “former,” the pronunciation is different. The French verb “exiger” means “to demand” or “to require.” The “ex-” part of “exiger” is pronounced EGGS, not ECKS. The whole word “exiger” is pronounced EGG ZEE JAY.

The word “exemple,” meaning “example,” is pronounced EGG ZOm PLer, following the same pattern as “exiger.”

The verb “excercer,” meaning “to exercise,” is pronounced EGG ZAIR SAY, using the same logic.