Symbols in French Full List with Names and Easy Examples

If you already know French letters and numbers, symbols are the next sneaky little thing that shows up everywhere: email addresses, prices, dates, math, texting, keyboard shortcuts, and formal writing. And yes, French speakers do have names for all those marks and symbols that English speakers usually just mumble through.

The annoying part? Some symbols are used a bit differently in French, especially with spacing, decimal numbers, quotation marks, and punctuation style. So it is not just “learn the symbol name and move on.” French said non and added formatting rules too.

In this guide, you’ll learn the most useful symbols in French, how to say them, what they mean, and how they appear in real sentences.

If you want the bigger picture after this, the main French learning hub is a good next stop.

Table of Contents

The Most Common Symbols in French

Here are the symbols you will see all the time in everyday French. The table gives you the French name, an easy pronunciation guide, the meaning, and a real example.

Symbol	French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	English Translation	Learner Note
@	arobase	ah-roh-bahz	at sign	Mon adresse e-mail contient une arobase.	My email address contains an at sign.	Very common in emails.
#	dièse / hashtag	dyez / hash-tag	hash, number sign, hashtag	Ajoute un hashtag à ton message.	Add a hashtag to your message.	Dièse is traditional; hashtag is common online.
&	esperluette	ess-pair-lu-et	ampersand	Le logo affiche une esperluette entre les deux noms.	The logo shows an ampersand between the two names.	Mainly seen in names and branding.
%	pour cent	poor sahn	percent	Il y a 20 pour cent de réduction aujourd’hui.	There is a 20 percent discount today.	In French writing, a space usually appears before %.
€	euro	uh-roh	euro sign	Ce livre coûte 15 €.	This book costs 15 euros.	French often writes the number before the symbol.
$	dollar	doh-lar	dollar sign	Le prix est de 30 $ au Canada.	The price is 30 dollars in Canada.	Used for non-euro currencies.
+	plus	ploos	plus	Deux plus deux font quatre.	Two plus two equals four.	Also means “more” in normal French.
–	moins / tiret	mwahn / tee-ray	minus / hyphen	Trois moins un font deux.	Three minus one equals two.	Use moins for math, tiret for punctuation.
=	égal	ay-gahl	equals	Deux plus deux égale quatre.	Two plus two equals four.	You will often hear égal or font in math speech.
/	barre oblique / slash	bar oh-bleek / slahsh	slash	Écris la date avec une barre oblique.	Write the date with a slash.	Slash is common in tech and casual speech.
\	antislash	ahn-tee-slash	backslash	En informatique, on utilise parfois un antislash.	In computing, people sometimes use a backslash.	Mostly a tech word.
*	astérisque	ahs-tay-reesk	asterisk	Le mot avec un astérisque renvoie à une note.	The word with an asterisk refers to a note.	Common in footnotes and forms.
_	tiret bas / underscore	tee-ray bah / uhn-der-score	underscore	Mon nom d’utilisateur contient un tiret bas.	My username contains an underscore.	Both forms are understood.
.	point	pwahn	dot, period	N’oublie pas le point à la fin de la phrase.	Don’t forget the period at the end of the sentence.	Also used in web addresses.
,	virgule	veer-gool	comma	En français, on met souvent une virgule pour séparer les éléments.	In French, a comma is often used to separate items.	French also uses the comma as a decimal marker.

Punctuation Symbols You Need In French Writing

Some marks look familiar but behave differently in French. The biggest thing English speakers miss is spacing. In standard French typography, a space often appears before certain punctuation marks such as :, ;, ?, and !.

Symbol	French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	English Translation	Learner Note
:	deux-points	duh-pwahn	colon	Il y a un problème : le train est en retard.	There is a problem: the train is late.	French spacing before the colon matters in formal writing.
;	point-virgule	pwahn veer-gool	semicolon	J’aime Paris ; mon frère préfère Lyon.	I like Paris; my brother prefers Lyon.	Also takes a space before it in French typography.
?	point d’interrogation	pwahn dan-tay-roh-gah-syohn	question mark	Tu viens avec nous ?	Are you coming with us?	French usually adds a space before it.
!	point d’exclamation	pwahn deks-klah-mah-syohn	exclamation mark	Attention !	Watch out!	Yes, there is usually a space before it too.
( )	parenthèses	pah-rahn-tehz	parentheses	Le musée est fermé le lundi (jour de repos).	The museum is closed on Monday (day off).	Used much like in English.
[ ]	crochets	kroh-shay	brackets	Ajoutez votre réponse entre crochets.	Add your answer in brackets.	Common in editing and notes.
{ }	accolades	ah-koh-lahd	curly braces	En programmation, on utilise des accolades.	In programming, people use curly braces.	Mostly technical.
” “	guillemets / guillemets anglais	gee-yuh-may	quotation marks	Il a écrit “bonjour” dans son message.	He wrote “hello” in his message.	French often prefers « » instead.
« »	guillemets français	gee-yuh-may frahn-say	French quotation marks	Elle a dit « je suis prête ».	She said “I’m ready.”	Standard in French publishing and formal writing.
‘	apostrophe	ah-pos-trof	apostrophe	Dans j’aime, il y a une apostrophe.	In j’aime, there is an apostrophe.	Very important in French because of elision.
…	points de suspension	pwahn duh sue-spahn-syohn	ellipsis	Je ne sais pas…	I don’t know…	Used for hesitation or unfinished thought.

French punctuation loves spaces in places English usually does not. Tiny detail, big “you look more natural” effect.

Math And Everyday Symbols In French

These symbols show up in school, prices, sizes, schedules, recipes, and everyday conversation.

Symbol	French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	English Translation	Learner Note
×	fois	fwah	times, multiplied by	Deux fois trois font six.	Two times three is six.	Fois is the normal word in math speech.
÷	divisé par	dee-vee-zay par	divided by	Huit divisé par deux font quatre.	Eight divided by two is four.	Very common classroom phrase.
<	inférieur à	ahn-fay-ree-uhr ah	less than	Trois est inférieur à cinq.	Three is less than five.	Formal but useful.
>	supérieur à	soo-pay-ree-uhr ah	greater than	Dix est supérieur à huit.	Ten is greater than eight.	Common in school and data.
±	plus ou moins	ploos oo mwahn	plus or minus	Le trajet dure plus ou moins une heure.	The trip takes plus or minus an hour.	Also common in normal speech for approximation.
°	degré	duh-gray	degree	Il fait 25 degrés aujourd’hui.	It is 25 degrees today.	Used for temperature and angles.
№	numéro	new-may-roh	number	Mon appartement porte le numéro 12.	My apartment is number 12.	Usually written as n° in French.
§	paragraphe	pah-rah-grahf	section mark	Voir le § 3 du contrat.	See section 3 of the contract.	Mostly legal or academic.

Tech And Internet Symbols In French

French speakers use a mix of native terms and borrowed English tech words. So you may hear a formal French term in a classroom, then hear the English-ish version from literally everyone else.

Symbol	French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	English Translation	Learner Note
@	arobase	ah-roh-bahz	at sign	Écris ton adresse avec l’arobase.	Write your address with the at sign.	Essential for email addresses.
#	hashtag	hash-tag	hashtag	Ce post a trop de hashtags.	This post has too many hashtags.	Online speech strongly prefers hashtag.
/	slash	slahsh	slash	Ajoute un slash après le mot.	Add a slash after the word.	Very common in tech contexts.
\	antislash	ahn-tee-slash	backslash	Le chemin du fichier contient un antislash.	The file path contains a backslash.	Technical word.
_	underscore / tiret bas	uhn-der-score / tee-ray bah	underscore	Mon mot de passe contient un underscore.	My password contains an underscore.	Borrowed English is common in speech.
.	point	pwahn	dot	Le site se termine par point fr.	The website ends in dot fr.	Common for URLs and emails.
\|	barre verticale / pipe	bar vair-tee-kahl / paip	vertical bar	Le code utilise une barre verticale.	The code uses a vertical bar.	Mainly for tech users.

How To Read Symbols Out Loud In French

Knowing the symbol name is one thing. Reading a whole line naturally is another. Here are some common patterns.

Email Addresses

paul@example.fr → paul arobase example point fr
marie_dupont@gmail.com → marie underscore dupont arobase gmail point com

Example: Mon adresse, c’est julie arobase orange point fr.

Translation: My address is julie at orange dot fr.

Prices

15 € → quinze euros
9,99 € → neuf euros quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

French uses a comma, not a period, for decimals: 9,99, not 9.99.

Example: Cette baguette coûte 1,20 €.

Translation: This baguette costs 1.20 euros.

Dates

French often writes dates numerically with slashes: 04/06/2025. You can read that as le quatre juin deux mille vingt-cinq.

If dates still cause trouble, this date guide makes them much less dramatic.

Math Expressions

2 + 3 = 5 → deux plus trois égale cinq
8 ÷ 2 = 4 → huit divisé par deux font quatre
4 × 6 = 24 → quatre fois six font vingt-quatre

French Symbols That Behave Differently From English

This is where learners usually trip over their own shoelaces.

1. The Decimal Comma

French uses a comma for decimal numbers.

3,5 = 3.5
12,99 € = €12.99

Example: Le taux est de 2,3 %.

Translation: The rate is 2.3%.

2. Spaces Before Some Punctuation

In standard French, you usually put a space before :, ;, ?, and !.

Correct: Tu viens ?
Correct: Attention !
Correct: Voici le problème : il est tard.

In digital typing, people are sometimes less strict, but in proper written French this rule matters.

3. French Quotation Marks

French often uses « » instead of English-style quotation marks.

Example: Elle a dit : « On y va. »

Translation: She said, “Let’s go.”

4. Apostrophes Matter A Lot

The apostrophe is not decoration. It marks elision, meaning a vowel gets dropped before another vowel sound.

je aime → j’aime
le homme → l’homme
que est-ce que → qu’est-ce que

Example: J’aime l’histoire de l’hôtel.

Translation: I like the history of the hotel.

That little apostrophe does a lot of heavy lifting in French. Very efficient. Very dramatic.

Useful Mini Table Of French Symbol Names

French	Meaning	Quick Note
arobase	@	Email addresses
dièse	#	Traditional name for hash sign
esperluette	&	Ampersand
virgule	,	Comma; also decimal marker in numbers
point	.	Period or dot
apostrophe	‘	Very common in French words
deux-points	:	Colon
point-virgule	;	Semicolon
guillemets français	« »	Standard French quotation marks
parenthèses	( )	Parentheses
crochets	[ ]	Brackets
accolades	{ }	Curly braces
astérisque	*	Asterisk
tiret	–	Hyphen or dash
tiret bas	_	Underscore
barre oblique	/	Slash
antislash	\	Backslash
point d’interrogation	?	Question mark
point d’exclamation	!	Exclamation mark
points de suspension	…	Ellipsis

Common Mistakes English Speakers Make

Using a period instead of a comma in prices: French writes 12,50 €, not 12.50 €.
Forgetting spaces before ? ! ; : This is a classic giveaway in formal French writing.
Ignoring the apostrophe: Write j’aime, not je aime.
Reading @ as “at” in French: Say arobase.
Using English quotation marks everywhere: French often prefers « ».
Confusing minus and hyphen: moins is for math; tiret is for punctuation.

Practice: Can You Read These In French?

Try saying these aloud before checking the hints.

lucie.martin@yahoo.fr
7,80 €
Tu es prêt ?
« Bonjour ! »
5 + 4 = 9
10 %

Possible readings:

lucie point martin arobase yahoo point fr
sept euros quatre-vingts
tu es prêt ?
guillemets bonjour point d’exclamation if naming symbols, or just read the sentence naturally
cinq plus quatre égale neuf
dix pour cent

Related French Writing Skills

Symbols usually show up together with other writing basics, so these guides help nicely:

Quick Reference Summary

@ = arobase
# = dièse or hashtag
& = esperluette
, = virgule
. = point
‘ = apostrophe
: = deux-points
; = point-virgule
? = point d’interrogation
! = point d’exclamation
« » = guillemets français
/ = barre oblique or slash
\ = antislash
* = astérisque
_ = tiret bas or underscore
French uses a comma for decimals and often a space before ? ! ; :

Yak takeaway: symbols in French are not hard, but they are fussy in exactly the way French loves to be fussy. Learn the common names, remember the spacing rules, and suddenly your writing looks a lot more French and a lot less “English keyboard wandered into Paris by mistake.”