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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