French Liaison: When to Link Sounds, and When Not To
Saying "les amis" with each word fully separated sounds choppy and unnatural — native speakers always link the final consonant of "les" to the opening vowel of "amis," producing "le-z-ami." But linking sounds carelessly in places where you shouldn't sounds just as wrong. Liaison follows clear rules — it isn't random.
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What liaison actually is
Liaison happens when a word ends in a silent consonant (normally unpronounced when the word stands alone) and the next word starts with a vowel or a silent "h" — that final consonant gets pronounced, linked into the next word, forming a new syllable. This is why spoken French flows smoothly instead of sounding like individual words read one at a time.
"les amis" (le-z-ami), "un ami" (u-n-ami), "ces enfants" (ce-z-enfant) — this group always requires liaison; skipping it sounds distinctly wrong.
"un petit ami" (peti-t-ami), "de grands enfants" — when an adjective comes before the noun (unlike most French adjectives, which come after), liaison always applies.
"et il" is never linked into "e-t-il" — always pronounced separately. Likewise, an "h aspiré" as in "les héros" blocks liaison, even though it looks like a case that should link.
Many liaisons are neither required nor forbidden — it depends on how formal the speech is. Everyday conversation usually has fewer liaisons than a formal speech or reading a written text aloud.
Hearing it repeatedly builds the reflex better than memorizing rules
Liaison is one of those things that's hard to grasp from theory alone — your ear needs to get used to how native speakers link sounds in real sentences before your mouth can imitate it correctly. See how to pick French listening sources that match your level to train your ear to catch liaison in real context.
Still hesitant about when to link sounds?
Book a free consult — Hải will help you train the right liaison reflex in natural, spoken sentences.