UI

French pronunciation

If you can pronounce the French u, you can pronounce the letter combination ui. Pucker your mouth as if you’re saying u, but say the English word "we" instead. Phonetic symbol: [ɥi].

Par exemple…
fuir to flee
huit eight
je suis I am
minuit midnight
la pluie rain

 Exceptions

  • In g + ui, the u serves only to make the g hard, so gui is pronounced [gi]
  • Q + ui is pronounced [ki]
  • This doesn’t apply to letter combinations with a vowel in front; euil and ouil have their own pronunciation rules

Also see ue.

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French pronunciation

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