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The Sounds ch, j, qu and ç

FoundationHigherAQA

Master The Sounds ch, j, qu and ç for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Ch sounds like sh, j is soft, qu sounds like k and ç is a soft c.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

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Higher

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Topic overview

Four spellings produce consonant sounds that differ from what an English reader would expect.

The letters ch give a sh sound, not the ch of English church. So chat sounds like sha, and chocolat begins with sh. The letter j gives the soft sound in the middle of English measure, as in je, jour and jamais.

The letters qu give a plain k sound with no w: qui sounds like kee, and quatre begins with a k. The cedilla ç makes a c soft before a, o or u — français, garçon, ça. Without the cedilla those c's would be hard, so the accent changes the sound entirely.

Revision notes

The sound ch

Gives sh, not the English ch sound.

Chat, chocolat, chercher, chien. Pronouncing it as in English church is one of the most noticeable accent errors and changes the word's sound completely.

The letter j and qu

J gives the soft sound in the middle of English measure: je, jour, jamais, jeune.

Qu gives a plain k with no w sound: qui sounds like kee, quatre begins with k, quand begins with k.

The cedilla

The cedilla ç makes a c soft before a, o or u.

Français, garçon, ça, leçon. Without it the c would be hard, so français would sound like frankay. The accent changes the sound entirely and must be written.

Key points

  • Ch gives a sh sound.
  • Chat begins with sh, not English ch.
  • J gives the sound in English measure.
  • Qu gives a plain k with no w.
  • The cedilla makes a c soft.
  • It is used before a, o and u.

Worked examples

Example 1

State the sound made by ch in chat. [2 marks]

Working

A sh soundstate the sound
It is not the ch sound of English churchnote the contrast

Example 2

State the sound made by qu in qui. [2 marks]

Working

A plain k soundstate the sound
There is no w sound, so qui is pronounced keeexplain the difference from English

Example 3

Explain the purpose of the cedilla in français. [2 marks]

Working

It makes the c soft before the astate the function
Without it the c would be hard, changing the sound of the word entirelyexplain the consequence

Common mistakes

  • Pronouncing ch as in English church.

    It is a sh sound.

  • Adding a w sound to qu.

    Qui is kee, not kwee.

  • Omitting the cedilla.

    It changes the sound of the c.

  • Pronouncing j as in English jam.

    It is the softer sound in measure.

Exam tips

  • Read ch as sh every time.
  • Drop the w sound from qu.
  • Always write the cedilla where needed.
  • Practise j as in measure, not jam.

Key terms

Ch
A spelling giving a sh sound.
Qu
A spelling giving a plain k sound.
Cedilla
The mark under ç, making a c soft.
Soft c
The s sound produced by the cedilla.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.