French pronunciation guide
How to pronounce French U and OU
French u /y/ and ou /u/ are two different vowels, and many words differ only by them: tu (you) and tout (all), rue (street) and roue (wheel), dessus and dessous. English speakers usually have only /u/, so both come out as “oo”. The trick for /y/ is to put an “ee” tongue inside “oo” lips.
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U
Tongue high and forward as for “ee”, lips tightly rounded as for “oo”.
tu, rue, lune, début
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OU
Tongue high and back, lips rounded. Close to English “oo”, but tenser and shorter.
tout, roue, nous, vous
How to make the sounds
- Say “ee” as in “see” and hold it.
- Without moving your tongue, round your lips tightly, as if to whistle. The sound that comes out is the French u /y/.
- For ou /u/, keep the rounded lips and pull your tongue back. Your mouth will feel emptier at the front.
- Switch slowly between them: tu, tout, tu, tout. Only the tongue moves.
Minimal pairs
- tu tout you · all
- rue roue street · wheel
- pur pour pure · for
- dessus dessous on top · underneath
- lu loup read · wolf
- vu vous seen · you
- bu bout drunk · end
- su sous known · under
Practice with real sentences
Tap Practice to open the sentence in Tono, listen to it, and say it.
- Tu as vu la lune ? Did you see the moon?Practice
- Nous habitons dans cette rue. We live on this street.Practice
- Où est la voiture rouge ? Where is the red car?Practice
- Je suis sûr que tout va bien. I am sure everything is fine.Practice
- Il a bu tout le jus. He drank all the juice.Practice
- Vous voulez du sucre ? Would you like some sugar?Practice
- Le bus est au bout de la rue. The bus is at the end of the street.Practice
- La tortue est sous la table. The tortoise is under the table.Practice
Common mistakes
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“oo” for u: tout for tu
The most common mistake for speakers of English, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. Keep the tongue forward, as for “ee”.
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“ee” for u: “ti” for tu
If your lips spread, you get “ee”. The lips must stay rounded the whole time.