EU

French pronunciation

The letter combination eu has three possible pronunciations, two of which are very similar.

1) When it’s the past participle of avoir, eu is pronounced like u.

	Par exemple…
	ils ont eu	they had

2) In an open syllable (ends in vowel sound), eu is pronounced much like "u" in the English word "put" – listen. Phonetic symbol: [ø]

bleu	blue
deux	two
monsieur	sir, Mr.

3) In a closed syllable (ends in consonant sound), the mouth is a little more open, like in the English word "hurt" – listen. Phonetic symbol: [œ]

une heure	hour
eau gazeuse	sparkling water
un fleuve	river

 Notes

• The ligature œ plus u (œu) follows rules 2 and 3.
• The letter combination euil has its own pronunciation rules.

 Related lessons

• Letters: E | U
• Open and closed syllables
• French vowels

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