u vs ou: The Two Vowels English Speakers Confuse
Train your ear on French's most famous vowel trap: u (/y/) vs ou (/u/).
/y/ (u) is a front rounded vowel: round your lips as if to say 'oo', but say 'ee' without moving them — no English equivalent.
/u/ (ou) is a back rounded vowel: like the 'oo' in English 'food', lips pushed forward and rounded.
Trap for English speakers: English has only one 'oo' sound, so tu (you) and tout (all/everything) sound identical to an English ear — but they are two different French words.
- tu — you (informal)
- tout — all/everything
- rue — street
- roue — wheel
- vu — seen
- vous — you (formal/plural)