French · A1 · Pronunciation & alphabet
French U vs OU: Hear and Say Tu and Tout
French u in tu and ou in tout represent different vowels. For u, start with the tongue position you use for French i and round your lips. For ou, keep the lips rounded and move the tongue farther back. Practise both in words that differ only in that vowel.
Library date · Published
Examples
| French | English |
|---|---|
| tu / tout | you / everything |
| rue / roue | street / wheel |
| dessus / dessous | above / below |
Build the contrast slowly
Say si, keep your tongue in place and round your lips to make the vowel in su. Now say sous with the tongue farther back. Alternate su and sous slowly enough to feel what changes. Then listen to the words and try identifying them without seeing the spelling.
What to listen for
The final t of tout is silent in this example when the word is said by itself. The words tu and tout therefore make a useful contrast. In a sentence, context helps, but the vowel distinction also separates words such as rue and roue.
Try it
Say “the street” and “the wheel” as two separate phrases, then reverse their order.
Show answer
La rue, la roue. La roue, la rue.
French course coming soon.