French (France) minimal pairs

Minimal pairs: deux and des

/ø/vs/e/

Hard for speakers of English, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Chinese, whose languages have no rounded front vowels: eu comes out as the “u” of “fur”, or as é.

The difference. The tongue is in the same place for both. Say é, then round your lips into a small circle without moving your tongue, and you get eu.

Practice all pairs

9 word pairs

Say both words in each pair. If Tono colors one of them amber or red, that is the sound to work on.

deux des Practice
feu fée Practice
ceux ces Practice
bleu blé Practice
nœud nez Practice
queue quai Practice
jeu j’ai Practice
lieu lié Practice
eux et Practice

Contrast sentences

Both sounds in one sentence: the real test of whether you can switch between them.

Je veux ces deux-là. Practice
Le ciel est bleu au-dessus du blé. Practice
Faites la queue sur le quai. Practice
J’ai gagné le jeu. Practice

How to practice minimal pairs

Listen to both words in Tono first, one after the other, until you can hear the difference.
Say the pair slowly and exaggerate the difference. Check that both words come back green.
Say the contrast sentences at normal speed. That is where the mix-up usually comes back.

More minimal pairs

English minimal pairs Spanish minimal pairs German minimal pairs