Tricky French pronunciation
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The French u is one of the most difficult sounds for English speakers, and as an added bonus, can be difficult to distinguish from ou.
The letter combination ou, IPA [u], is the easier of the two sounds. It’s similar to the ou in "you" except it does not diphthong into [w] at the end – learn more.
The letter u in French, IPA [y], is much more difficult, largely because there is no similar sound in English. Again, "ou" is the closest, but u is very distinct – at least to French ears. U is pronounced with protruding, tightly pursed lips – learn more.
To help you distinguish between these two sounds, I’ve collected an assortment of minimal pairs: words that are pronounced exactly the same other than the vowel. There are also homophones (words that are pronounced identically) listed underneath.
U vs OU – minimal pairs
| bu | (past participle) | drank (from boire) | la boue | mud | |
| le but | goal | le bout | tip | ||
| la bûche | log | la bouche | mouth | ||
| la bulle | bubble | la boule | ball | ||
| le bureau | desk, office | le bourreau | torturer* | ||
| le cul | ass | le cou | neck | ||
| q | (letter) | q | le coup | blow | |
| la cure | treatment | la cour | courtyard | ||
| le cours | course | ||||
| le court | court | ||||
| dessus | on top | dessous | underneath | ||
| du | (contraction) | de + le | doux | sweet | |
| dû | (past participle) | had to (from devoir) | |||
| eu | (past participle) | had (from avoir) | ou | or | |
| u | (letter) | u | où | where | |
| la houe | hoe | ||||
| je jure | I swear (from jurer) | le jour | day | ||
| le jus | juice | la joue | cheek | ||
| je joue | I play | ||||
| lu | (past participle) | read (from lire) | le loup | wolf | |
| je loue | I rent | ||||
| mû | (past participle) | moved (from mouvoir) | mou | soft | |
| la mue | moulting | la moue | pout | ||
| nu | naked | nous | we, us | ||
| pu | (past participle) | could (from pouvoir) | un pou | louse | |
| il pue | it stinks (from puer) | un pouls | pulse | ||
| le pus | pus | ||||
| la puce | flea | le pouce | thumb | ||
| la pousse | sprout | ||||
| le pull | sweater | la poule | hen | ||
| pur | pure | pour | for | ||
| la rue | street | la roue | wheel | ||
| roux | red-headed | ||||
| russe | Russian | rousse | red-headed | ||
| su | (past participle) | knew (from savoir) | un sou | cent | |
| sous | under | ||||
| tu | you | tout | all, every | ||
| tu | (past participle) | quieted (from taire) | la toux | cough | |
| il tue | he kills (from tuer) | ||||
| le tutu | tutu (ballet skirt) | le toutou | doggie | ||
| vu | (past participle) | seen (from voir) | vous | you | |
| la vue | view |
* Not really much of a difference in meaning between these two, is there? Ha ha! 🙂
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The French lessons and comprehension exercises on this site are ranked according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which describes six levels of language proficiency.
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