La feuille est flétrie.

Because feuille is a feminine noun in French, so it takes the feminine singular definite article la.

• la feuille = the leaf
• If it were masculine, it would take le

This is something you usually just have to learn with the noun.

Feuille most commonly means leaf, especially a leaf from a plant.

It can also mean sheet in other contexts, such as:

• une feuille de papier = a sheet of paper

So the exact meaning depends on context, but in this sentence it is naturally understood as a plant leaf.

Est is the third-person singular form of être, which means to be.

So:

• je suis = I am
• tu es = you are
• il / elle est = he / she is

In La feuille est flétrie, est means is.

Because flétrie agrees with feuille, which is feminine singular.

The base form is often given as:

• flétri for masculine singular
• flétrie for feminine singular
• flétris for masculine plural
• flétries for feminine plural

Since feuille is feminine singular, French uses flétrie.

In this sentence, it functions like an adjective meaning wilted.

Historically, it is also the past participle of the verb flétrir (to wilt, to wither, or in some contexts to tarnish). French often uses past participles as adjectives.

So in practical terms, for this sentence, you can think of flétrie as an adjective describing the leaf.

French often describes a state using être + adjective.

So:

• La feuille est flétrie = the leaf is wilted

This focuses on the leaf’s condition.

If you use the verb flétrir directly, the meaning changes slightly:

• La feuille flétrit = the leaf is wilting / wilts

So:

• est flétrie = describes the result or state
• flétrit = describes the process happening

A careful pronunciation is approximately:

la fœj ɛ fletri

A few helpful points:

• feuille is tricky for English speakers; it sounds roughly like fuhy or foy, but with a French vowel
• the ll in feuille does not sound like an English l
• est is usually pronounced like eh
• flétrie sounds roughly like flay-tree, but with a French é

In natural speech, French pronunciation is smoother than English spelling suggests.

Usually, no. In this sentence, est is normally pronounced eh.

So:

• est → usually no final t sound

Also, there is no liaison here because the next word, flétrie, begins with a consonant.

The é in flétrie tells you that the vowel is pronounced like a clear ay sound, not a neutral e.

So:

• é has a distinct, closed sound
• it helps both with pronunciation and correct spelling

Accents in French are important because they can change pronunciation and sometimes meaning.

Yes. That would mean a leaf is wilted instead of the leaf is wilted.

So:

• La feuille est flétrie = the leaf is wilted
• Une feuille est flétrie = a leaf is wilted

The choice depends on whether you are talking about a specific leaf or just any leaf.

Most French adjectives come after the noun, and flétri / flétrie normally does too.

So:

• une feuille flétrie = a wilted leaf

With être, the adjective comes after the verb:

• La feuille est flétrie

Saying la flétrie feuille would sound unnatural here. A small group of common adjectives can go before the noun, but flétrie is not normally one of them.

The plural would be:

Les feuilles sont flétries.

Here is what changes:

• la → les
• feuille → feuilles
• est → sont
• flétrie → flétries

Everything has to agree with the plural noun.

It is a correct and natural word, especially in careful or descriptive French.

Depending on context, French speakers might also use:

• fanée for something faded or wilted, especially flowers
• desséchée for something dried out

But flétrie works very well for a leaf that has wilted or withered.