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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