9.6: The vowel [ɥ] - UI, UY

French OER - Pronunciation · LibreTexts

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    Objectif

    In this section, you will learn how to pronounce the vowel sound [ɥ].

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    How to produce the sound [ɥ]

    The semi-vowel [ɥ], also known as a semi-consonant, stems from the [y] sound, though it's also quite different.

    While the sound [y] is produced by the letter u, the [ɥ] sound is produced by a combination of u and another vowel.

    The [ɥ] sound never appears at the end of a word. Here are the various ways that [ɥ] can be produced:

     

    • by the ui combination, like in
      • huit, huile, fuite, nuit, puis.

     

    • by the ue combination, like in
      • cruel, muet, suer, habituer, saluer

     

    • by the ua combination, like in
      • nuage, persuader
    Additional Resources

    Here's another site that describes how to prodouce the sound [ɥ].

    Note: these are pronounced [wil]

    x + EUIL | OUIL | UIL

    This page titled 9.6: The vowel [ɥ] - UI, UY was last modified on Tue, 19 Aug 2025 19:00:50 GMT and is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by William J. Carrasco and Shahrzad Zahedi.