French Typing Practice

Type real French words and sentences; a plain e for é or c for ç counts wrong.

Type each word and press space after it. The clock starts on your first key. Tous ces œufs ne sont pas frais. enfant comète chaîne leçon pressé eau février troisième Si vous voulez rester ici, vous êtes bienvenu. deux combien chez bûche Je veux tout simplement être prêt. sévère héros lumière équipe Vous êtes trop jeunes pour voyager seuls. boire pâtes a à coût monde salé rivière zèbre bonsaï maître Elle s'est portée volontaire pour l'aider.
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All 493 words and sentences

The fourteen marks, with the keys to press 14

  • a à A with grave accent, typed here after a plain a. On its own à means to or at, and a without the accent means has. AZERTY keyboard: its own key: the 0 key of the number row, pressed without Shift. US-International layout: ` then a. Option key: Option + `, then a. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0224 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold a.
  • a â A with circumflex, typed here after a plain a. AZERTY keyboard: the ^ key to the right of P, let go, then a. US-International layout: ^ (Shift + 6) then a. Option key: Option + i, then a. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0226 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold a.
  • c ç C with cedilla, typed here after a plain c. It gives c an s sound before a, o or u. AZERTY keyboard: its own key: the 9 key of the number row, pressed without Shift. US-International layout: ' then c, or right Alt + comma. Option key: Option + c. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0231 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold c.
Show all 493 words and sentences (490 more)

The fourteen marks, with the keys to press, continued

  • e è E with grave accent, typed here after a plain e. It marks an open e, as in père and très. AZERTY keyboard: its own key: the 7 key of the number row, pressed without Shift. US-International layout: ` then e. Option key: Option + `, then e. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0232 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold e.
  • e é E with acute accent, typed here after a plain e. French puts the acute accent on e only. AZERTY keyboard: its own key: the 2 key of the number row, pressed without Shift. US-International layout: ' then e, or right Alt + e. Option key: Option + e, then e. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0233 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold e.
  • e ê E with circumflex, typed here after a plain e. AZERTY keyboard: the ^ key to the right of P, let go, then e. US-International layout: ^ (Shift + 6) then e. Option key: Option + i, then e. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0234 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold e.
  • e ë E with diaeresis, typed here after a plain e. The two dots say the vowel is sounded apart from the one before it, as in Noël. AZERTY keyboard: Shift + the ^ key to the right of P gives the dots, let go, then e. US-International layout: " (Shift + ') then e. Option key: Option + u, then e. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0235 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold e.
  • i î I with circumflex, typed here after a plain i. Since the 1990 spelling changes it may be left off in most words; this page keeps it. AZERTY keyboard: the ^ key to the right of P, let go, then i. US-International layout: ^ (Shift + 6) then i. Option key: Option + i, then i. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0238 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold i.
  • i ï I with diaeresis, typed here after a plain i. The two dots say the vowel is sounded apart from the one before it, as in naïve. AZERTY keyboard: Shift + the ^ key to the right of P gives the dots, let go, then i. US-International layout: " (Shift + ') then i. Option key: Option + u, then i. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0239 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold i.
  • o ô O with circumflex, typed here after a plain o. AZERTY keyboard: the ^ key to the right of P, let go, then o. US-International layout: ^ (Shift + 6) then o. Option key: Option + i, then o. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0244 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold o.
  • oe œ The ligature of o and e, typed here after a plain oe. French requires it in words such as cœur, sœur and œuf. AZERTY keyboard: no key on the common PC layout; on a French keyboard with an Option key, Option + o. US-International layout: not on this layout. Option key: Option + q. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0156 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold o.
  • u ù U with grave accent, typed here after a plain u. French uses it in one word only: où, where. AZERTY keyboard: its own key, to the right of M. US-International layout: ` then u. Option key: Option + `, then u. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0249 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold u.
  • u û U with circumflex, typed here after a plain u. Since the 1990 spelling changes it may be left off in most words, but not in dû, mûr, sûr and jeûne; this page keeps it. AZERTY keyboard: the ^ key to the right of P, let go, then u. US-International layout: ^ (Shift + 6) then u. Option key: Option + i, then u. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0251 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold u.
  • u ü U with diaeresis, typed here after a plain u. Rare in French: it is in a few names and in capharnaüm. AZERTY keyboard: Shift + the ^ key to the right of P gives the dots, let go, then u. US-International layout: " (Shift + ') then u, or right Alt + y. Option key: Option + u, then u. Alt code: hold Alt and type 0252 on the number pad. Phone: touch and hold u.

Pairs that one mark keeps apart 27

  • arrivé arrived. Without the accent, arrive means arrives.
  • cité city. Without the accent, cite means quotes, cites.
  • côte coast; rib. Without the circumflex, cote means rating.
  • curé parish priest. Without the accent, cure means course of treatment.
  • dès from, as soon as. Without the accent, des means some, of the.
  • dû owed; also had to, the past participle of devoir. Without the circumflex, du means of the, some.
  • entré entered. Without the accent, entre means between.
  • fermé closed. Without the accent, ferme means farm; firm.
  • forêt forest. Without the circumflex, foret means drill bit.
  • invité guest; invited. Without the accent, invite means invites.
  • jeûne fast, time without eating. Without the circumflex, jeune means young.
  • là there. Without the accent, la means the, before a feminine noun.
  • livré delivered. Without the accent, livre means book.
  • maïs corn. Without the two dots, mais means but.
  • marché market. Without the accent, marche means walk; step of a staircase.
  • mât mast. Without the circumflex, mat means matte, dull.
  • mûr ripe. Without the circumflex, mur means wall.
  • nôtre ours. Without the circumflex, notre means our.
  • où where. Without the accent, ou means or.
  • pâle pale. Without the circumflex, pale means blade of a propeller.
  • parlé spoken. Without the accent, parle means speaks.
  • pressé in a hurry; squeezed. Without the accent, presse means press.
  • retraité retired person. Without the accent, retraite means retirement.
  • salé salty. Without the accent, sale means dirty.
  • sûr sure, safe. Without the circumflex, sur means on.
  • tâche task. Without the circumflex, tache means stain, spot.
  • vôtre yours. Without the circumflex, votre means your.

Words with é 102

  • aîné eldest, elder. Two kinds of mark in one word: î and é.
  • amitié friendship
  • année year
  • arrivée arrival
  • astéroïde asteroid. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and ï.
  • beauté beauty
  • bébé baby
  • célèbre famous. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and è.
  • cinéma movie theater; cinema
  • clé key
  • côté side. Two kinds of mark in one word: ô and é.
  • début beginning
  • décider to decide
  • déçu disappointed. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and ç.
  • déjà already. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and à.
  • déjeuner lunch, to have lunch. Outside France it can mean breakfast
  • délicieux delicious
  • déménager to move house
  • désolé sorry
  • désœuvré idle, with nothing to do. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and œ.
  • difficulté difficulty
  • école school
  • écosystème ecosystem. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and è.
  • écouter to listen
  • écran screen
  • écrire to write
  • église church
  • égoïsme selfishness. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and ï.
  • égoïste selfish. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and ï.
  • électricité electricity
  • éléphant elephant
  • élève pupil. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and è.
  • énergie energy
  • entrée entrance; first course of a meal
  • épaule shoulder
  • épicerie grocery store
  • équipe team
  • étage floor, story of a building
  • étagère shelf. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and è.
  • été summer; also been, the past participle of être
  • étoile star
  • étranger foreign; foreigner
  • étude study
  • événement event
  • fatigué tired
  • février February
  • héroïque heroic. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and ï.
  • héroïsme heroism. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and ï.
  • héros hero
  • idée idea
  • intéressant interesting
  • intérêt interest. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and ê.
  • journée day, the whole span of it
  • léger light, not heavy
  • liberté freedom
  • lycée high school
  • médaille medal
  • médecin doctor
  • mémoire memory
  • météo weather forecast
  • méthode method
  • métier trade, job
  • métro subway, metro
  • moitié half
  • musée museum
  • naïveté naivety. Two kinds of mark in one word: ï and é.
  • nécessaire necessary
  • numéro number
  • océan ocean
  • préfère prefers. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and è.
  • préféré favorite
  • préférer to prefer
  • qualité quality
  • réalité reality
  • réfléchir to think it over
  • réfrigérateur refrigerator
  • région region
  • réparer to repair
  • répète repeats. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and è.
  • répondre to answer
  • réponse answer
  • réseau network
  • réserver to book, to reserve
  • résumé summary
  • réunion meeting
  • réussir to succeed
  • santé health
  • sécurité safety, security
  • séjour stay; living room
  • sévère strict, harsh. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and è.
  • soirée evening; party
  • téléphone telephone
  • télévision television
  • thé tea
  • théâtre theater. Two kinds of mark in one word: é and â.
  • trésor treasure
  • université university
  • vélo bike
  • vérifier to check, to verify
  • vérité truth
  • vétérinaire vet
  • zéro zero

Words with à, è or ù 57

  • accès access
  • achète buys
  • après after
  • athlète athlete
  • atmosphère atmosphere
  • bibliothèque library; bookcase
  • caractère character, nature
  • carrière career
  • chèvre goat
  • collège junior high school, not a university
  • collègue colleague
  • comète comet
  • crèche day nursery; nativity scene
  • crème cream
  • dernière last, the feminine form
  • deuxième second
  • dièse sharp sign in music; the hash sign #
  • exprès on purpose
  • fougère fern
  • frère brother
  • frontière border
  • grand-mère grandmother
  • hypothèse hypothesis
  • œillère blinder on a horse's bridle. Two kinds of mark in one word: œ and è.
  • infirmière nurse
  • kilomètre kilometer
  • lumière light
  • manège riding school; merry-go-round
  • manière way, manner
  • matière subject; material
  • mère mother
  • mètre meter
  • modèle model
  • mystère mystery
  • parenthèse parenthesis, round bracket
  • père father
  • pièce room; piece; coin
  • piège trap
  • planète planet
  • poème poem
  • première first, the feminine form
  • près near
  • privilège privilege
  • problème problem
  • progrès progress
  • règle rule; ruler
  • remède remedy
  • rivière river
  • siècle century
  • siège seat; head office
  • succès success
  • système system
  • thermomètre thermometer
  • très very
  • troisième third
  • voilà here is, there you go
  • zèbre zebra

Words with â, ê, î, ô or û 70

  • abîmer to damage
  • âge age
  • ancêtre ancestor
  • âne donkey
  • août August
  • arrêt stop
  • arrêter to stop
  • bâtiment building
  • bâton stick
  • bêtise foolishness, nonsense
  • bientôt soon
  • boîte box
  • brûler to burn
  • bûche log
  • chaîne chain; TV channel
  • château castle
  • chêne oak
  • clôture fence; closing
  • connaître to know a person or a place
  • contrôle check; control
  • coût cost
  • coûter to cost
  • crêpe thin pancake, crêpe
  • croûte crust
  • dîner dinner; to have dinner
  • diplôme diploma
  • drôle funny
  • enquête survey; investigation
  • entraîneur coach, trainer
  • entrepôt warehouse
  • être to be
  • extrême extreme
  • fantôme ghost
  • fenêtre window
  • fête party, celebration
  • fêter to celebrate
  • flûte flute
  • fraîche fresh, the feminine form
  • gâteau cake
  • goût taste
  • goûter to taste; afternoon snack
  • grâce grace, charm; mercy
  • grêle hail
  • guêpe wasp
  • honnête honest
  • hôpital hospital
  • hôtel hotel; town house
  • huître oyster
  • icône icon
  • île island
  • maître master; teacher
  • même same; even
  • mûre blackberry, mulberry; ripe, the feminine form
  • naître to be born
  • pâtes pasta
  • pâtisserie pastry; pastry shop
  • pêche peach; fishing
  • peut-être maybe, perhaps
  • plaît pleases, a form of plaire; s'il vous plaît is please
  • plutôt rather
  • prêt ready; loan
  • quête quest
  • râteau rake
  • rêve dream
  • rôle role, part
  • tempête storm
  • tête head
  • têtu stubborn
  • tôt early
  • vêtement garment

Words with ë, ï or ü 28

  • aïe ouch
  • aïeul grandfather; ancestor
  • aiguë sharp, high-pitched: the feminine form of aigu
  • aïoli garlic mayonnaise
  • ambiguë ambiguous, the feminine form
  • archaïque archaic
  • archaïsme archaism, an old-fashioned word or way
  • bonsaï bonsai
  • caïman caiman
  • canoë canoe
  • capharnaüm shambles, a place in a mess
  • coïncidence coincidence
  • contiguë adjoining, the feminine form
  • exiguë cramped, the feminine form
  • faïence glazed earthenware
  • glaïeul gladiolus
  • humanoïde humanoid
  • inouï unheard-of
  • laïque secular
  • mosaïque mosaic
  • naïf naive
  • naïve naive, the feminine form
  • Noël Christmas. It keeps its capital
  • ouïe hearing, the sense
  • samouraï samurai
  • stoïque stoic
  • taïga taiga, the northern forest
  • thaï Thai

Words with ç 39

  • agaçant annoying
  • aperçoit notices
  • aperçu glimpse, overview
  • avançons we move forward
  • balançoire swing
  • ça that, it
  • colimaçon snail; spiral staircase, another form of limaçon
  • commençons we begin, let's begin
  • commerçant shopkeeper
  • conçu designed, conceived
  • façade front of a building
  • façon way, manner
  • façonner to shape
  • français French
  • française French, the feminine form
  • garçon boy
  • garçonnet little boy
  • glaçage icing
  • glaçon ice cube
  • hameçon fish hook
  • hameçonnage phishing
  • imprononçable unpronounceable
  • inaperçu unnoticed
  • influençable easily influenced
  • irremplaçable irreplaceable
  • leçon lesson
  • limaçon snail; spiral staircase
  • maçon bricklayer, mason
  • maçonnerie masonry
  • niçois of Nice
  • provençal of Provence; the Provençal language
  • reçoit receives
  • reçu receipt; received
  • remplaçable replaceable
  • remplaçant substitute, stand-in
  • rinçage rinsing
  • soupçon suspicion; a hint, a dash
  • soupçonner to suspect
  • tronçon section, stretch

Words with œ 23

  • belle-sœur sister-in-law
  • bœuf beef; ox
  • chœur choir, chorus
  • consœur female colleague
  • contrecœur fireback of a hearth; à contrecœur means reluctantly
  • cœlacanthe coelacanth, a deep-sea fish
  • cœur heart
  • œil eye
  • œil-de-bœuf small round window, a bull's-eye window
  • œillet carnation; eyelet
  • œilleton eyepiece; peephole
  • manœuvre maneuver
  • manœuvrer to maneuver
  • mœurs customs, manners
  • nœud knot
  • sœur sister
  • sœurette little sister
  • œuf egg
  • œufs eggs
  • œuvre work, as in a work of art
  • œuvrer to work
  • vœu wish; vow
  • vœux wishes, as in best wishes

Common words with no marks 97

  • aller to go
  • alors then, so
  • ami friend
  • apprendre to learn
  • arbre tree
  • argent money; silver
  • attendre to wait for, to expect. A false friend: not to attend
  • aussi also, too
  • avec with
  • avion plane
  • avoir to have
  • bateau boat. No circumflex, unlike gâteau and château
  • beaucoup a lot, much
  • beurre butter
  • bleu blue
  • boire to drink
  • bonjour hello, good morning
  • bouche mouth
  • chanter to sing
  • cheveux hair
  • chez at the home of
  • chien dog
  • chiffre digit
  • ciel sky
  • clavier keyboard
  • combien how much, how many
  • comprendre to understand
  • courir to run
  • cuisine kitchen; cooking
  • dans in
  • demain tomorrow
  • deux two
  • eau water
  • enfant child
  • ensemble together
  • faire to do, to make
  • famille family
  • fleur flower
  • froid cold
  • fromage cheese
  • heure hour; time on the clock
  • heureux happy
  • ici here
  • jamais never
  • jardin garden
  • jouer to play
  • jour day
  • langue language; tongue
  • lettre letter
  • lire to read
  • lune moon
  • maintenant now
  • maison house
  • majuscule capital letter
  • manger to eat
  • matin morning
  • merci thank you
  • mois month
  • monde world
  • montagne mountain
  • mot word
  • neige snow
  • nouveau new
  • nuit night
  • oiseau bird
  • ordinateur computer
  • oui yes
  • parler to speak
  • petit small
  • pluie rain
  • poisson fish
  • pour for
  • pourquoi why
  • pouvoir to be able to
  • prendre to take
  • rester to stay, to remain
  • rien nothing
  • rouge red
  • rue street
  • savoir to know a fact
  • semaine week
  • soir evening
  • soleil sun
  • souris mouse
  • temps time; weather
  • touche key on a keyboard
  • toujours always; still
  • tout all, everything
  • travail work
  • trois three
  • vert green
  • ville city, town
  • virgule comma
  • voir to see
  • voiture car
  • vouloir to want
  • vraiment really

Short sentences 36

  • C'est un livre à lire. This is a book to read. Tatoeba sentence 488739 by sacredceltic.
  • Ce café n'est pas assez chaud. This coffee is not hot enough. Tatoeba sentence 331090 by TRANG.
  • Cet aéroport est facilement accessible par le bus. This airport is easily accessible by bus. Tatoeba sentence 1033766 by sacredceltic.
  • Chez lui, il lisait toujours allongé. At home, he always read lying down. Tatoeba sentence 376128 by zmoo.
  • De bons résultats sont attendus. Good results are expected. Tatoeba sentence 1293442 by sacredceltic.
  • Des milliers de gens étaient là. Thousands of people were there. Tatoeba sentence 1351786 by sacredceltic.
  • Elle a acheté une nouvelle voiture. She bought a new car. Tatoeba sentence 1084238 by nimfeo.
  • Elle demanda conseil à son instituteur. She asked her teacher for advice. Tatoeba sentence 1674554 by sacredceltic.
  • Elle est gentille avec les personnes âgées. She is kind to old people. Tatoeba sentence 180936 by Aiji.
  • Elle fait ça depuis plus de vingt ans. She's been doing this for over twenty years. Tatoeba sentence 1724287 by sacredceltic.
  • Elle s'est portée volontaire pour l'aider. She volunteered to help him. Tatoeba sentence 1341667 by sacredceltic.
  • Elle sait compter de un à dix. She can count from one to ten. Tatoeba sentence 2307791 by sacredceltic.
  • Elle se rendit au musée en taxi. She went by cab to the museum. Tatoeba sentence 1351642 by sacredceltic.
  • Il aime être entouré de jeunes. He likes being surrounded by young people. Tatoeba sentence 1544592 by sacredceltic.
  • Il écrira une lettre. He will be writing a letter. Tatoeba sentence 132543 by Aiji.
  • Il sera là à tout moment. He'll be here any second. Tatoeba sentence 1453654 by sacredceltic.
  • Il vient de rentrer de l'étranger. He just returned from abroad. Tatoeba sentence 15408 by sacredceltic.
  • Ils ont vraiment dormi à même le sol. They really slept on the floor. Tatoeba sentence 3019558 by JulieMDM.
  • J'ai presque fini d'écouter l'album. I've almost finished listening to the album. Tatoeba sentence 3804372 by Scorpionvenin14.
  • Je me réjouis que vous soyez mon amie. I'm glad you're my friend. Tatoeba sentence 2602420 by sacredceltic.
  • Je ne suis pas différent. I'm no different. Tatoeba sentence 3648113 by sacredceltic.
  • Je suis trop occupée au travail. I'm too busy at work. Tatoeba sentence 4218331 by sacredceltic.
  • Je veux maîtriser le suédois. I want to master Swedish. Tatoeba sentence 2840045 by Micsmithel.
  • Je veux savoir ce qui est drôle. I want to know what's funny. Tatoeba sentence 2435837 by sacredceltic.
  • Je veux tout simplement être prêt. I just want to be ready. Tatoeba sentence 2448561 by sacredceltic.
  • Le parking ne coûte absolument rien. The car park is completely free of charge. Tatoeba sentence 1544614 by sacredceltic.
  • Le temps est menaçant. The weather is threatening. Tatoeba sentence 3642785 by sacredceltic.
  • Les données sont souvent inexactes. The data is often inaccurate. Tatoeba sentence 884259 by sacredceltic.
  • Nous avons acheté du pain. We bought bread. Tatoeba sentence 2104391 by Amastan.
  • On verra le résultat. The result remains to be seen. Tatoeba sentence 802245 by sacredceltic.
  • Recule, s'il te plaît. Stand back, please. Tatoeba sentence 500740 by sacredceltic.
  • Si vous voulez rester ici, vous êtes bienvenu. If you want to stay here, you are welcome to. Tatoeba sentence 4236863 by sacredceltic.
  • Tous ces œufs ne sont pas frais. Not all these eggs are fresh. Tatoeba sentence 330932 by TRANG.
  • Tu as davantage d'énergie que moi. You have more energy than I. Tatoeba sentence 1462238 by sacredceltic.
  • Tu peux nous appeler à tout moment. You can call us at any time. Tatoeba sentence 2002076 by sacredceltic.
  • Vous êtes trop jeunes pour voyager seuls. You are too young to travel alone. Tatoeba sentence 1556901 by sacredceltic.

How this list was compiled: Words chosen one at a time for this site, not taken from any published word list or frequency list; no film-subtitle list was used and no frequency rank is given. Every word, and every twin without its mark that a note names, was checked on 2026-10-03 to have a French entry in the English Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org (the entry for the one-letter word a is on that dictionary's page 'a/languages A to L'). The English meanings were written for this site and compared with those entries, and words whose main sense is rude or slang were left out. Which marks French writes and what they do (the acute on e only, ù in the single word où, the cedilla, the diaeresis, the œ ligature, the pairs du and dû, mur and mûr, sur and sûr, jeune and jeûne, and the 1990 change that lets most words drop the circumflex on i and u): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_orthography. The AZERTY layout (A and Q swapped, Z and W swapped, M to the right of L, digits typed with Shift, the keys for é, è, ç, à and ù, the ^ key to the right of P, no œ): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AZERTY and the French keyboard chart of the Unicode CLDR project, release 43, https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/tree/release-43/keyboards. US-International key presses, Option key presses and the letters a phone offers on touch and hold: the United States-International, U.S. and English on-screen keyboard charts of the same CLDR release. Alt codes are each character's number in the Western European code page with a zero in front, as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt_code describes, worked out for this site. All read 2026-10-03. The 36 sentences come from the Tatoeba corpus, https://tatoeba.org, found 2026-10-03 with its search set to French sentences owned by a self-declared native speaker, with a direct English translation. Each is credited with its Tatoeba number and author and opens at https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/ followed by the number. The English line with each sentence is the linked Tatoeba translation. No sentence was written for this site, and none starts with an accented capital, which the common AZERTY layout has no key for. Every word and sentence was read against a blocklist of rude and upsetting words. A word that fits several drills is printed once in this list, under the first heading that fits it; the drill in the menu still includes it. Licence: own work (selection, grouping, glosses and notes; words checked against Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, CC BY-SA). The items in the sentences group are from Tatoeba, https://tatoeba.org, under CC BY 2.0 FR, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/fr/, each credited to its author by user name. The English line with each sentence is a Tatoeba translation under the same license, and its author is named on the linked sentence page.

How it works

French typing practice comes down to fourteen marked letters an English keyboard hides, from é and ç to œ. Each timed run ends with WPM and accuracy, so it doubles as a French typing test.

Read the full guide

Ten drills, one kind of mark at a time

The Practise menu, under More options, opens on Everything: 493 words and sentences, shuffled. One drill takes the fourteen marks alone, each beside its plain letter. Pairs shows what a mark decides: forêt is a forest and foret is a drill bit. Six drills take one kind of mark each, from école to cœur, and 36 Tatoeba sentences mix them.

The AZERTY keyboard

On a French AZERTY keyboard A and Q swap places, and so do Z and W. M sits to the right of L. The number row types é, è, ç and à without Shift, and the digits need it. ù has a key to itself for one word: où.

  • French typing on the US-International layout: ' then e gives é, ` then a gives à, and ^ then e gives ê.
  • The ^ key on AZERTY is a dead key: nothing shows until you press the vowel. Keep typing.

Questions and answers

How do I type é, ç and œ without a French keyboard?

On a Mac, Option + e then e gives é. On Windows, hold Alt and type 0233 for é, 0231 for ç or 0156 for œ on the number pad. On a phone, touch and hold the letter. The list below has every method.

Is this a typing speed test French learners can use?

Yes. The page opens on 60 seconds, and a run ends with WPM and accuracy. For 15 or 30 seconds, change Test length under More options. The list under the tool gives every word in English.

Why was boite marked wrong?

This page keeps the circumflex. Since the 1990 spelling changes French also accepts boite and ile without it, but the match here is letter for letter and the list has boîte and île. The mark still tells sûr, sure, from sur, on.

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