French /ɥ/: pronounce the glide in huit, nuit and lui
Find the shared glide in huit, nuit and lui. Compare /ɥ/ with French u and oui, practise short phrases and check the spellings and syllables.
In short
In huit /ɥit/, nuit /nɥi/ and lui /lɥi/, /ɥ/ is a quick glide into /i/. Start from the rounded position of French u, then move straight into i. Each of these words has one syllable.
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Three words with the same glide
| Word | IPA | Meaning | Short phrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| huit | /ɥit/ | eight | à huit heures |
| nuit | /nɥi/ | night | bonne nuit |
| lui | /lɥi/ | him; to him or her | avec lui |
The symbol /ɥ/ names the brief rounded movement before the vowel. In nuit, the /n/ comes first; in lui, the /l/ comes first. The /i/ carries the syllable. Keep the movement quick: stretching the first part into a full vowel can turn one syllable into two.
How do you pronounce huit, nuit and lui?
Try the movement slowly, then join it
- Say French u /y/: the tongue is forward and the lips are rounded.
- Keep the tongue towards the front as you move into i /i/. Let the lips relax.
- Shorten the first movement until the two parts fit one beat: lui.
- Add a phrase: avec lui, then Je travaille avec lui. Compare it with a spoken model.
tu /ty/you
Focus: a full rounded vowel /y/
une voyelle : /y/
Tu viens ?
Are you coming?
lui /lɥi/him
Focus: a quick front rounded glide followed by /i/
une syllabe : /lɥi/
Je travaille avec lui.
I work with him.
oui /wi/yes
Focus: the back rounded glide /w/
une syllabe : /wi/
Oui, je viens.
Yes, I’m coming.
Keep the word inside a phrase
Il arrive à huit heures.
He arrives at eight o’clock.
Say the /t/ in huit heures. It belongs to the end of huit, separate from the initial glide.
La nuit est calme.
The night is quiet.
The word nuit is /nɥi/ here: the written final t is silent.
Vous pouvez lui laisser un message.
You can leave him or her a message.
Here lui means “to him or her”. Keep it short between the surrounding words.
What is the difference between lui and Louis?
| Word | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| lui | /lɥi/ | him; to him or her |
| lit | /li/ | bed |
| loi | /lwa/ | law |
Try lui — lit — lui, keeping one beat for each word. Then compare lui — loi. Both glides involve rounded lips, so listen to the result as well as watching your mouth. The questions below check the printed forms; use the course recording to compare the sounds.