French circumflex accent explained + examples

During my last 4 years teaching French online, I often heard mes étudiants* point out how “tempête” looks almost like “tempest” and how “fête” sounds similar to “fiesta.” The “Quelle coïncidence!”* list is indeed quite long! But did you know that most French words that contain l’accent circonflexe* come from Latin? Today, let’s talk about the French circumflex accent (^) and learn a few French, Spanish and also Latin words with it!

Fun fact: As languages evolved, the French circumflex (^) often indicates the disappearance of an old “s” in certain words. For example, the Latin “testa” became the French “tête”, and the Latin “hospitale” transformed into the French “hôtel”. Interestingly, other words from the same family retained the letter “s.” Another fun fact: the circumflex accent can appear on all French vowels except “y”.

zenzazione @ Pexels

As a Spanish and English speaker, voici* my personal favorites that illustrate the concept of l’accent circonflexe*:

  • (FR) être – (SP) estar – (EN) to be
  • (FR) fête – (SP) fiesta – (EN) a party
  • (FR) tempête – (SP) tempest – (EN) a storm ⛈️
  • (FR) pâtes – (SP) pasta – (EN) pasta🍝
  • (FR) requête – (EN) request
  • (FR) prêter – (EN) to borrow (however, prestation kept the letter “s”)
  • (FR) vêtements – (SP) vestidos – (EN) garments (however, veste also kept the letter “s”) 👕

Waouh, ça fait beaucoup!* And there are more where these came from! You’ll find a longer list the the end of this article.

Olly @ Pexels

What happened in 2016? The 1990 French spelling reform

When I began writing this article, I decided it would be a good idea to talk about changes to the use of the circumflex accent that took place a few years ago. In 2016, the French spelling reform caused significant controversy and public outcry in France. Here’s what happened:

  • La reforme* was actually proposed in 1990 by l’Académie Française, but it gained attention in 2016 when it was announced that new textbooks would incorporate these changes.
  • The reform affected about 2,400 French words, including the optional removal of the circumflex accent (ˆ) from some words, particularly above the letters ‘i’ and ‘u’ when it doesn’t change pronunciation or meaning. Words affected by the reform include “maîtresse” (“maitresse” – mistress, female teacher) and “coût” (“cout” – cost).
  • The changes meant to simplify spelling for schoolchildren were met with strong opposition from the general public.

📱A social media campaign using the hashtag #JeSuisCirconflexe* went viral, echoing the #JeSuisCharlie* campaign and expressing resistance to these changes:

Rahulshah @ Pexels

In any case, the controversy forced le Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la Jeunesse* to clarify that l’accent circonflexe*, as well as some hyphens, were not disappearing entirely. Both old and new spellings would be considered correct, and both students and publishers could choose which option to use.

Pour résumer*, while the 2016 announcement of implementing the 1990 spelling reforms caused a significant public reaction, particularly regarding l’accent circonflexe*, the actual changes were less drastic than initially perceived.

50 French words with a circumflex accent

Voici* a unified list of 50 French words with a circumflex accent, accompanied by their English and Spanish equivalents and their origin.

FrançaisAnglaisEspagnolOrigine
🌩️ TempêteStormTormentaDu latin tempesta
📜 RequêteRequestSolicitudDu latin requaesita
🏨 HôtelHotelHotelDu latin hospitale
🌳 ForêtForestBosqueDu latin forestis
👤 TêteHeadCabezaDu latin testa
🎉 FêteParty, celebrationFiestaDu latin festa
🐉 BêteBeast, stupidBestiaDu latin bestia
🌊 CôteCoast, ribCostaDu latin costa
💭 RêveDreamSueñoOrigine incertaine, possiblement du latin vagus
🍝 PâteDough, pastePastaDu latin pasta
🏰 ChâteauCastleCastilloDu latin castellum
🛑 ArrêtStopParadaDérivé du verbe arrêter
💰 IntérêtInterestInterésDu latin interest
💳 PrêtLoan, readyPréstamo, listoDu latin praestus
🏇 ConquêteConquestConquistaDu latin conquae
🪟 FenêtreWindowVentanaDu latin fenestra
👗 VêtementClothingRopaDu latin vestimentum
🤝 HonnêteHonestHonestoDu latin honestus
🔥 BûcheLogTroncoDu gaulois busca
🎣 PêcheFishing, peachPesca, melocotónDu latin persica
📅 ÂgeAgeEdadDu latin aetas
👻 ÂmeSoulAlmaDu latin anima
🏝️ ÎleIslandIslaDu latin insula
👨‍🏫 MaîtreMasterMaestroDu latin magister
💵 CoûtCostCostoDu latin constare
👅 GoûtTasteGustoDu latin gustus
🌞 AoûtAugustAgostoDu latin augustus
🍽️ DînerDinnerCenaDu latin disjejunare
🌌 AbîmeAbyssAbismoDu grec abussos
🎭 ThéâtreTheaterTeatroDu grec theatron
🌫️ PâlePalePálidoDu latin pallidus
🙏 GrâceGraceGraciaDu latin gratia
🪄 BâtonStickBastónDu latin populaire basto
🌱 CroîtreTo growCrecerDu latin crescere
📦 BoîteBoxCajaDu latin buxida
🏠 GîteLodgingAlojamientoDu latin jacita
🦪 HuîtreOysterOstraDu latin ostrea
👴 AncêtreAncestorAncestroDu latin antecessor
🌸 ArômeAromaAromaDu grec aroma
🏢 BâtimentBuildingEdificioDérivé de bâtir
🔺 CôneConeConoDu grec konos
⛪ DômeDomeDomoDe l’italien duomo
🚀 ExtrêmeExtremeExtremoDu latin extremus
🎶 FlûteFluteFlautaDu provençal flauta
😳 GêneDiscomfort, embarrassmentMolestia, vergüenzaDu latin gehenna
⏳ HâteHastePrisaDu francique haist
🍽️ JeûneFast (abstinence)AyunoDu latin jejunum
🍐 MûrRipe, matureMaduroDu latin maturus
🌼 PâqueretteDaisyMargaritaDérivé de Pâques
✔️ SûrSure, safeSeguroDu latin securus
List of 50 French words with a circumflex accent

This list shows that many French words with a circumflex accent have similar English or Spanish equivalents, often due to their common origins (Latin or Greek) or the influence of one language on another throughout history. However, note that spelling and pronunciation can differ significantly between the three languages, even for related words.

Félicitations*, your knowledge of accents and your spelling skills just improved! Have fun practicing these words, and à bientôt!*

Looking to learn more?🚀 Book your lesson with me on Buy Me a Coffee, Italki or via this Contact Form.

🥐 French vocab used in this article :

  • Mes étudiants – my students
  • The “Quelle coïncidence!” list – The “What a coincidence” list
  • L’accent circonflexe – the circumflex accent
  • Waouh, ça fait beaucoup! – Wow, that’s a lot!😲
  • La reforme – the reform
  • L’Académie Française – the French Academy, the principal French council for matters pertaining to the French language 👨‍🎓📚
  • JeSuisCirconflexe – #iAmCircumflex
  • JeSuisCharlie – #iAmCharlie, a slogan created by a French graphic designer Joachim Roncin in the hours following the attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in 2015, used in the following days in support of the victims
  • Le Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la Jeunesse
  • Pour résumer – to sum up
  • Voici – Here is
  • Félicitations – Congrats 🎉
  • A bientôt – See you soon

This article was written by Lola

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