OU vs. U French Pronunciation

The letter u is one of the most difficult sounds in the French language, at least for English speakers, both to pronounce and to distinguish from ou. Some tips and sound files can help you hear the difference and say the words correctly. Sounds Like Soup In French, ou is pronounced more or less like the ou in soup. The French u, on the other hand, has no English equivalent: The closest sound is also the ou in soup, but the  u sound  is created further forward in the mouth. The following words are pronounced the same except for the vowel, so you will be able to see how the different pronunciations can make a very big difference in meaning. The words are grouped by alphabetical sections to make locating them easier and paired, with the u word listed first and the ou term  second.   Bu Through Joue Click on the words to hear how each one is pronounced. When two words are listed on the same line, they are homophones (pronounced identically). bu - past participle  of boire (to drink)   |    le but - goalla boue - mud   |   le bout - tip la bà »che - logla bouche - mouth le bureau - desk, officele bourreau - torturer le cul - ass   |   q - the letter qle cou - neck   |   le coup - blow dessus - on topdessous - underneath du - contraction of de le   |   dà » - past participle of devoir (to have to)doux - sweet eu - past participle of avoir (to have)   |   u - the letter uou - or   |   oà ¹ - where je jure - I swearle jour - day le jus - juicela joue - cheek Lu Through Pour From  lu, the past participle of  lire  (to read), to  pour  (for), youll find major differences in meaning depending or whether u or ou are used in various French words. lu - past participle of lire (to read)le loup - wolfmà » - past participle of mouvoir (to move)   |   la mue - moltingmou - soft   |   la moue - poutnu - nakednous - we, uspu - past  participle of pouvoir  (power)  Ã‚  |   Ãƒ §a  pue  - that smells (from  puer)   un pou - lousela puce - fleale pouce - thumb   |   la pousse - sproutle pull - sweaterla poule - henpur - purepour - for La Rue Through Vous Pairing u with r (and e) yields the word street—rue—in French, but adding ou to that same combination of letters creates the word  roue  (wheel). la rue - streetla roue - wheelle russe - Russianrousse - red-headed  su - past participle of savoir (to know)un sou - cent   |   sous - undertu - you   |   tu - past participle of taire (to be quiet)   |   il tue - he kills (from tuer)tout - all   |   la toux - coughle tutu - tutu (ballet skirt)le toutou - doggievu - past participle of voir (to see)   |   la vue - viewvous - you