French eu pronunciation: the vowels in peu and peur
Compare rounded /ø/ in peu with /œ/ in peur, read short family examples, explore picture words and check the special pronunciation of eu.
In short
Eu often represents /ø/, as in peu /pø/, or /œ/, as in peur /pœʁ/. Both vowels use rounded lips; /œ/ has the lower tongue position. Peu and peur are useful models, though peur also adds the consonant /ʁ/.
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How do you pronounce eu in peu and peur?
peu · /pø/little; not much
Focus: Close-mid front rounded /ø/.
Il reste peu de temps.
There is little time left.
J’en veux deux.
I want two.
peur · /pœʁ/fear
Focus: Open-mid front rounded /œ/.
Elle a peur du noir.
She is afraid of the dark.
Ma sœur arrive à une heure.
My sister is arriving at one o’clock.
Try /e/, the vowel in café, and round your lips while keeping the tongue towards the front: this gives a starting position for /ø/. Start from the more open /ɛ/ in mère and add rounding for /œ/. Keep an opening between your lips so the vowel can continue.
| /ø/ | /œ/ |
|---|---|
| peu · /pø/ | peur · /pœʁ/ |
| deux · /dø/ | sœur · /sœʁ/ |
| jeu · /ʒø/ | jeune · /ʒœn/ |
| bleu · /blø/ | fleur · /flœʁ/ |
Rounded vowels in four picture words
Find:
A pair that changes only the vowel
Il est jeune.
He is young.
Jeune is /ʒœn/.
Le jeûne commence demain.
The fast begins tomorrow.
Jeûne is /ʒøn/ in a pronunciation that keeps this contrast.
Unlike peu/peur, these two words have matching consonants. Their vowel contrast makes them a minimal pair in accents that distinguish them. Keep the circumflex with jeûne and the adjective jeune without it.
How do you pronounce eu, the past participle of avoir?
J’ai eu peur.
I was scared.
The participle eu is /y/, while peur contains /œ/.
In j’ai eu, the letters eu form the past participle of avoir. Learn this very common form separately. Its /y/ is the vowel in tu, rather than either vowel in the two-column chart.