The c with a tail, and sleeping letters

ç keeps the s sound. Silent letters wake up in the feminine.

A c is soft (sss) before e and i, and hard (k) before a, o and u. When you need the soft sound before a, o or u, the c grows a little tail: ç. Garçon, français, reçu, leçon. The tail says 'stay soft'. The same trick with g: to keep g soft before a or o, add an e: nous mangeons.

Many French words end with a letter you do not hear: petit, grand, blanc. To find the sleeping letter, make the word feminine: petite, grande, blanche. The letter wakes up, and now you know how to spell the masculine.

Examples

Practice (sample)

Pick the right spelling

1. a lesson
   lecon / leçon / lesson
   Answer

   leçon. soft c before o needs the tail.
2. we begin
   nous commencons / nous commençons / nous commensons
   Answer

   nous commençons. c before o must stay soft → ç.
3. an ice cream (une gla______)
   ce / çe / se
   Answer

   ce. c is already soft before e, no tail needed.
4. tall (masc.), knowing 'grande'
   gran / grand / grant
   Answer

   grand. grande reveals a d.
5. white (masc.), knowing 'blanche'
   blan / blanc / blanch
   Answer

   blanc. blanche reveals a c.
6. strong (masc.), knowing 'forte'
   for / fort / fore
   Answer

   fort. forte reveals a t.

The online game draws fresh questions from a bank of 16, in two levels.