French Pronunciation of the Double L

In French, the double L is sometimes pronounced like an L and other times like a Y. How do you know when to pronounce it each way? This lesson explains the general rules and the inevitable exceptions.

As a general rule, the double L after A, E, O, U, and Y is pronounced like an L: une balle, elle, mollement, une idylle, etc. If there are exceptions to this, I've never found them.

In words with I followed by LL, the rules are a bit more complicated. The double L is always pronounced like a Y in letter combinations with vowel + ILL:

• aill (e.g., taille)
• eill (oreille)
• euill (feuille)
• œill (œillet)
• ouill (grenouille)
• ueill (cueillir)
• uill (juillet)

And LL is pronounced like a Y in words such as fille, la Bastille, Millau, and chantilly.

However, there are also many words in which the double L is pronounced like an L (follow links to hear the words pronounced). This is the complete list:

• un bacille - germ, bacillus
• billevesées - nonsense
• un billion - trillion
• capillaire - capillary
• un codicille - codicil
• distiller - to distill
• une fibrille - small fiber (fibrillaire, fibrillation)*
• un krill - krill
• Lille - town in northern France
• lilliputien - Liliputian
• mille - thousand (un millénium, millier, etc.)
• un mille - mile (le millage)
• milli- (prefix)
• un milliard - billion (un milliardaire, le milliardième, etc.)
• un million - million (un millionaire, le millionième, etc.)
• osciller - to oscillate, swing
• un/e pupille* - ward of the state
• une pupille* - pupil
• une scille - scilla
• une spongille - spongilla
• tranquille - calm, tranquil
• un verticille - verticil
• un vexille - vexillum
• une ville - town (une villa, un village, etc.)
• une zorille - zorilla

The (parentheses) indicate derivations which are also pronounced like an L.

*These words may be pronounced either way.