8. o, open, like o in or: notre, poche, mort.
9. u, no English equivalent (German ü): u, eu (in verb avoir).
- In order to pronounce the French u, try to pronounce ee in see with the lips rounded in position for whistling.
- (a) u in all cases: du, rue, plus.
- (b) eu in verb avoir: eu, j'eus, il eut.
- (c) u preceded by g or q and followed by a vowel is usually silent: langue, que, quatre, guider.
10. ou, like oo in too: tout, ou, sous, nous.
11. eu, œu, closed; no English equivalent.
- With the lips rounded in position for whistling, try to pronounce the e in the when said rapidly with the following word, the boy.
- (a) eu at the end of a word or when followed by a silent consonant: feu, peu, deux, mieux.
- (b) œu at the end of a word or when followed by a silent consonant: vœu, nœud.
12. eu, œu, open, like u in fur. Eu and œu have this sound when followed by r and generally when followed by any other sounded consonant in the same syllable: leur, seul, peur, cœur, sœur, bœuf, œuf.
Nasal Sounds
The nasal sound is the sound of a vowel followed by n or m. However, the n or m is not to be pronounced. The nasal sound has no exact equivalent in English.
There are four nasal sounds: