Certain sounds are difficult to pronounce in French. The vowel combination "ui" can be a tricky one for English speakers.
To pronounce "ui", you should pucker your mouth like you’re going to say "u" but quickly say "we" instead.
Monique from France has recorded some words with the "ui" combination for us. You can listen to the recording below and follow along with the list. Try repeating the words after her…
List of "ui" Words in the Recording with their English meaning.
puis (then)
un puits (a well)
depuis (since)
du buis (boxwood)
un buisson (a bush)
je suis (I am)
la suie (soot)
essuyer (to wipe)
une tuile (a roof tile)
gratuit (free of charge)
aujourd’hui (today)
conduire (to drive, to lead)
la nuit (night)
minuit (midnight)
juillet (July)
"chuis" (informal pronunciation of "je suis")
lui (him)
luisant (shiny)
de l’huile (oil)
cuire (to cook)
la cuisse (thigh)
une cuillère (a spoon)
la cuisine (kitchen, cuisine)
une aiguille (a needle)
un ruisseau (a brook, a stream)
la ruine (ruin).
la pluie (rain)
du bruit (noise)
bruyant (noisy)
la bruyère (heather)
une truie (a sow)
une truite (a trout)
un druide (a druid)
du gruyère (Gruyere cheese)
Many thanks to Monique Palomares for recording these words for us! Monique works with me on the French and Spanish versions of Mama Lisa’s World.
This article was posted on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2016 at 8:51 pm and is filed under Belgium, Canada, Countries & Cultures, France, French, Languages, Learning, MP3's, Pronunciation, Recordings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.