le / la: the e in le
CEFR A1
le
/lə/
the, masculine article
la
/la/
the, feminine article
What tells the two sounds apart
- /ə/Central vowel with slightly rounded lips in this careful model.
- /a/Open vowel in la; it is not the vowel in le.
Why it is hard
The label silent e can be misleading to an English reader: isolated le has an audible /ə/ here. Do not apply the English word-final silent-e rule; French reduction depends on context and rhythm.
Le sac est sur la table.
To practise
- je/ʒə/I
- de/də/of, from
- se/sə/reflexive pronoun
- ce/sə/this, before a masculine noun