186 - The /y/ Sound [French Pronunciation Practice]
In this episode, you’ll practice the French /y/ sound (tu or la rue) with a simple listen & repeat exercise. 🎧✨
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Transcript
Bonjour à tous, and welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast! This is episode number 181 — numéro cent-quatre-vingt-un.
In today’s episode, we’re continuing our Listen & Repeat pronunciation series, and this time, we’re focusing on the French vowel sound /y/ — that’s the sound you hear in words like tu or la rue. 🎧✨
So here's how it works: I’ll say some French sentences where the /y/ sound appears, and your job is simple — just listen carefully and repeat after me.
This listen & repeat technique helps you train your ear and build muscle memory, so you can eventually feel more confident when speaking French.
To help you follow along, make sure to download your free cheat sheet — it includes all the sentences and English translations. You’ll find the link in the episode notes!
Let’s start with five French words that contain the /y/ sound:
tu (you)
le jus (juice)
le bureau (office)
la rue (street)
la jupe (skirt)
Ready to go? Let’s practice with full sentences! 🎙️
Repeat after me:
Est-ce que tu veux plus de sucre ? 🍬(Do you want more sugar?)
Luc boit du jus d’orange. 🧃 (Luc drinks some orange juice?)
Il prend le bus pour aller au bureau. 🚌 (He takes the bus to go to the office.)
Ma voiture est garée dans cette rue. 🚗 (My car is parked on this street.)
Elle porte un pull et une jupe. 👗(She’s wearing a jumper and a skirt.)
Great! If any of those sentences felt tricky — feel free to go back and replay them. Repetition really is the key to improving your pronunciation.
And that’s it for today’s episode! 🎧
Don’t forget to download your free cheat sheet — it includes all the French sentences and their English translations to help you follow along more easily.
Merci beaucoup for practicing with me today! Keep up the great work, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
À bientôt, bye! 🤍