The Use of the Hyphen in French

Compound words

Compound words are formed from several words linked together with a hyphen. The hyphen creates a single lexical unit. A compound word may contain more than one hyphen, depending on the number of words it is made of. For example, the word rez-de-chaussée is formed from three words, so there is a hyphen between each word.

Example:

après-midiafternoon

rendez-vousappointment/meeting

wagon-restaurantdining car

grand-mèregrandmother

là-hautup there

au-dessousbelow

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

Note that place names formed with Saint take a hyphen, while the names of saints themselves do not (e.g. Sainte Anne).

Marie-Louise

Jean-Luc

quatre-vingtseighty

Compound expressions formed with tout do not take a hyphen: tout à coup (suddenly), tout à l’heure (a moment ago / soon), etc.

Grammatical link

The hyphen can be used to link several words that form a grammatical unit.

Verbs

A hyphen is used to link the verb and the subject when their order is inverted (in questions or parenthetical clauses).

Example:

As-tu compris comment utiliser le trait d’union ?Have you understood how to use the hyphen?

Oui, lui répondis-je.“Yes,” I replied to him.

Sometimes a euphonic t appears between the verb and the inverted subject (when the verb is conjugated in the third person and ends in a or e). All these elements are linked with hyphens.

Example:

« Où vas-tu ? », lui demanda-t-elle.“Where are you going?” she asked him.

M’attendra-t-il ?Will he wait for me?

When a verb is used in the imperative with an object pronoun (reflexive or transitive verbs), the verb is linked to the pronoun with a hyphen.

Example:

Lève-toi !Get up!

Réponds-moi !Answer me!

Donne-le-lui !Give it to him!

Adjectives

A hyphen is used between a personal pronoun and the adjective même.

Example:

C’est le ministre lui-même qui a confirmé la véracité de ses paroles.It was the minister himself who confirmed the truth of his statements.

Je suis parfois trop sévère avec moi-même.I am sometimes too strict with myself.

This is also the case with the invariable adjectives mi and demi and the noun they modify.

Example:

Nous sommes à mi-chemin entre le village et la mer.We are halfway between the village and the sea.

Clément arrivera dans une demi-heureClément will arrive in half an hour.

Hyphens are also used in compound geographical adjectives.

Example:

Catherine est franco-allemande.Catherine is Franco-German.

Numbers

Compound numbers below one hundred are written with hyphens.

Example:

Vingt-sixtwenty-six

Quarante-cinqforty-five

Cinquante-troisfifty-three

Soixante-dix-septseventy-seven

Quatre-vingt-dix-neufninety-nine

Word division

The hyphen is used to split words at the end of a line when there is not enough space to write them in full. In word processors this is usually done automatically, but in handwriting certain rules must be followed.

• Words are divided between syllables.
  

  Example:

  or- / dinateur

  or

  ordi- / nateur

  or

  ordina- / teur

• Two vowels are never separated.
  

  Example:

  bou- / teille (et non bo- / uteille)

• When there is one consonant between two vowels, the word is divided before the consonant.
  

  Example:

  ba- / teau

  cou- / loir

  sa- / lon

• When there are two consonants between vowels, the division occurs between the consonants.
  

  Example:

  balan- / çoire

  légen- / daire

• When there are three or four consonants, the word is divided after the second consonant.
  

  Example:

  trans- / parent

  acc- / rocher

  cons- / truire

• If the word is a compound word, the break occurs at the existing hyphen.
  

  Example:

  grand- / mère

• If the word begins with a prefix, the break occurs after the prefix (even if it does not follow the rules above).
  

  Example:

  ex- / pression

  dé- / couvrir

  extra- / ordinaire