pronunciation of "de" and "du" in French
Hi all,
I'm preparing my DELF B1 test, and recently I notice that it's very hard to distinguish the sound of "de" and "du" while practicing listening. So I'm wondering in daily life situations, do people pronounce "de" as "du" or in fact, "de" and "du" have the same sound?

Thanks in advance :D

Question

pronunciation of "de" and "du" in French
Hi all, 
I'm preparing my DELF B1 test, and recently I notice that it's very hard to distinguish the sound of "de" and "du" while practicing listening. So I'm wondering in daily life situations, do people pronounce "de" as "du" or in fact, "de" and "du" have the same sound?

Thanks in advance :D

Answer

Here's a tip (from a non-native):

"De" sounds a lot like the sound "duh" in English.

"Du" is very different. It takes a bit more work, but I learnt a clever trick to get it right:

1.  Purse your lips as though you were about to kiss someone.
2. Keeping your lips in that position, say "dee".  As if by magic, the word comes out as a perfect French  "du" sound.

Et voilà! Two completely different sounds.

Answer

The sounds are very different even in daily life. "Du" is pronounced with pursed lips to form the distinctive "u" sound in French, whereas the lips are in a different position with "de".

Answer

I believe Standard Mandarin has the same contrast, but not after D, only after L and N.

呢 (toneless ne / ㄋㄜ.) rhymes with French de.   
女 (nü / ㄋㄩ) rhymes with French du.

In rapid speech, French speakers often pronounce "de" with almost no vowel.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!