LinguaTwo letters, one sound
You know every letter now. The next step is the habit that makes French readable: two vowels side by side are usually NOT read one after the other. They form a pair, and the pair is one sound. ou is the “oo” of “soup”: vous, jour. oi is “wa”: moi, trois. ai and ei are both the open è of très: lait, neige. eu and œu are a rounded “uh”, lips as for o, tongue as for e: deux, sœur, cœur. au and eau are simply a closed o: auto, eau, beau. This is why a French word is longer on paper than in the ear: eau is three letters and one sound, beau is four letters and two sounds. When you meet two vowels together, do not spell them out: ask which pair they make.
The pair ou: write the o, then the u right after it, and read them as ONE sound, the “oo” of “soup”. It is not the French u of tu: no tongue trick, just round lips. vous, jour, tout.
The pair oi: an o and an i, read “wa”, never “oy”. The lips start round for the o and open at once into a. moi, toi, trois.
Two spellings of the same open è. ai: an a and an i, read like the è of très: lait, mai. ei: an e and an i, the same sound: neige, seize. Neither letter keeps its own voice.
The pair eu: say the é of café, then round your lips as for o without moving your tongue. That rounded sound is eu: deux, peu, yeux. The same sound is written œu in a few words: sœur, cœur.
The o and the e glued into one letter: write the o, and without lifting the pen continue into the e on its right. It is one character, « e dans l’o », and it lives inside the pair œu: sœur, cœur. Typing? Type oe if your keyboard has no œ: the app accepts both.
The pair au: an a and a u, read as a closed o, like the o of vélo. Add an e in front and nothing changes: eau is the same sound with three letters. auto, eau, beau.
| Pair | Sound | Words |
|---|---|---|
| ou | “oo” as in “soup” | vous, jour |
| oi | “wa” | moi, trois |
| ai, ei | the open è of “bed” | lait, neige |
| eu, œu | a rounded “uh”, lips for o, tongue for e | deux, sœur |
| au, eau | a closed o, as in “more” | auto, eau |
| One sound | Spellings | Words |
|---|---|---|
| closed o | o, au, eau | vélo, auto, eau |
| open è | è, ai, ei, ê | très, lait, neige, fête |
| rounded “uh” | e, eu, œu | le, deux, sœur |
| “oo” | ou | vous, jour, tout |
de l’eau et du laitsome water and some milk
trois sœursthree sisters
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| vous | you (several people, or politely) | Et vous, ça va ? And you, how are you? |
| jour | day | Un jour à la mer. A day at the seaside. |
| moi | me | Toi et moi. You and me. |
| trois | three (3) | Trois petits vélos. Three little bikes. |
| lait | milk | Un café au lait. A coffee with milk. |
| neige | snow | La neige à Noël. Snow at Christmas. |
| deux | two (2) | Deux cafés, vite ! Two coffees, quick! |
| sœur | sister (feminine) | La sœur de Zoé. Zoé’s sister. |
| cœur | heart | Un grand cœur. A big heart. |
| eau | water | Un peu d’eau. A little water. |
| beau | beautiful, handsome; fine (weather); masculine, bel before a vowel | Un beau vélo. A beautiful bike. |
| auto | car | Une auto et un taxi. A car and a taxi. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- trace the letter: 3
- fill the gap: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which of these words has the “oo” sound, written with the pair ou?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.