French vowel combinations - a pronunciation guide
French vowel combinations
The vowel combinations reprensent 5 different sounds in French.
Here’s how to recognize them and pronounce them right.

Table of content
Sound #1: ai / ei
The two combinations ai and ei form the same sound.
They are pronounced as in the English word (a bed).
Here are two examples:
ain and ein are nasal vowels.
Sound #2: au / eau
au and eau sound the same as
oa in the English word (a boat).
For example:
Sound #3: eu / œu
eu is another type of combined vowels in French.
Pronounce this sound as in the English word (her):
Sound #4: ou
The combination ou is pronounced as in the English word (a tool).
It is a very common vowel combination in French. For example:
Sound #5: oi
In the combination oi, the letter i should be pronounced as
an a, as in (a farm).
Therefore the sound oi is similar to the one in the word (a waffle).
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