OE

French pronunciation

The letter combination oe may be pronounced as a single sound (in which case the two vowels merge into the œ ligature) or as two separate sounds, explained here.

When o and e are pronounced separately, there’s often some kind of accent on the e.

Par exemple…

le canoë		canoe
noël		Christmas
Noémi		(girl’s name)
la poêle		frying pan

  Note that in poêle, as well as boette and moelleux, below, the o is pronounced as a semi-vowel [w].

In many words, it’s easy to tell that the vowels are pronounced separately because o is at the end of a prefix.

Par exemple…

une autoentreprise		sole proprietorship
coexister		to coexist
un/e gastroentérologue		gastroenterologist

But there are a few words without any visual clue for the separate pronunciation:

Par exemple…

aloe vera  (also aloé véra)		aloe vera
la boette		bait
moelleux		mellow, sweet

 Related lessons

• Letters: O | E
• Ligature: œ
• French vowels

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