French Steps - Pronunciation - '-u' and '-ou'

Pronouncing '-u' and '-ou'

The two vowel sounds in tu and vous need to be carefully distinguished in French.

ou is a bit like the English vowel in 'you'.

u is a tighter more 'closed' sound and is pronounced at the front of the mouth.

Listen and compare these words:

	tu	Tulle
	vous	Toulouse

This distinction can be important as some words can have a quite different meaning depending on whether they have the ou or u sound:

	la rue	street	la roue	wheel
	le pull	pullover	la poule	hen
	la vue	view	vous	you
	tu	you	tout	all
	le cul	bottom	le cou	neck