A1 · Alphabet and pronunciation
Vowels
A u is not an “oo”, and two letters are often one sound.
French vowels are pure: each one is a single sound held steady, without the glide English adds to the “o” of “go” or the “ay” of “day”. a is the “a” of “father”, but short (papa); i is “ee” (ami); o is an “o” without the glide (moto). Two vowels need attention at once: u is always the rounded “ü” sound — tu, rue, sur —, and an e without an accent is silent at the end of a word and otherwise usually a short “uh”, as in le or petit.
Many sounds are written with two or three letters that together make one vowel: ou is the “oo” of “food” (vous, rouge), au and eau are “oh” (auto, beau), ai and ei are the “e” of “bed” (lait, neige), eu and œu are a rounded sound like the “u” of “fur” with pursed lips (deux, sœur), and oi is “wa” (moi, trois).
With e, open and closed matter: é is closed, like a short, clipped “ay” (café); è and ê are open, like the “e” of “bed” (mère, fête). And French never weakens an unstressed vowel to “uh” the way English does in “banana”: every vowel keeps its full colour.
The form
| always the rounded “ü” | u — tu, rue |
| “oo” as in “food” | ou — vous, rouge |
| “oh”, without a glide | au, eau — auto, beau |
| “e” as in “bed” | ai, ei — lait, neige |
| “u” of “fur”, lips pursed | eu, œu — deux, sœur |
| “wa” | oi — moi, trois |
| closed, a clipped “ay” | é — café |
| open, as in “bed” | è, ê — mère, fête |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
u is always the rounded “ü”; only ou is “oo”.
tu et tout, sur et sousyou and everything, on and under
au and eau are a plain “oh”.
un beau châteaua beautiful castle
eu is a rounded vowel, not “you”.
deux heurestwo hours
oi is pronounced “wa”.
moi et toime and you
How to spot it
- ou
- eau
- eu
- oi
- ai
Example sentences
Il pleut aujourd’hui.It is raining today.
Je voudrais de l’eau.I would like some water.
La voiture est rouge.The car is red.
Ma sœur a deux enfants.My sister has two children.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Pronounce a French u like the “oo” of “food” and you have said a different word: sur (on) becomes sous (under), tu (you) becomes tout (all). The book ends up under the table instead of on it. For the right sound, round your lips as for “oo” and say “ee” through them.
A u is never “oo” — only ou is.
Your turn
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