French · Food & drink
How to pronounce eau in French
eau
Water
French of France · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
eau is pronounced /o/ in French. In eau: Round the lips and keep the tongue toward the back for a steady /o/. Follow the length indicated in the transcription. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
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Find the sounds in eau
The reference transcription for eau is /o/. Read adjacent consonants together without inserting extra vowels. French prominence belongs to the spoken phrase. Do not impose a heavy English-style stress on every isolated word.
1.A steady /o/ vowel
In eau: Round the lips and keep the tongue toward the back for a steady /o/. Follow the length indicated in the transcription.
Watch out: Avoid automatically turning a single /o/ into the moving vowel of English “go”.
Hear it in context
Une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plaît.
A jug of water, please.
Listen once, say it aloud, then replay at 1.00×. Keep the word connected to the surrounding sentence rather than giving every syllable equal weight.
Pronunciation and variety
eau is presented using French of France. Regional accents and connected speech can change details. The isolated word and the example let you compare the dictionary form with a short spoken context.
The English-style respelling is approximate. Use the IPA and recording together for vowel quality and consonants that do not have an exact English equivalent.
Meaning and everyday use
Questions about eau
How do you pronounce eau?
eau is pronounced /o/ in French. In eau: Round the lips and keep the tongue toward the back for a steady /o/. Follow the length indicated in the transcription. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
What should I listen for first?
In eau: Round the lips and keep the tongue toward the back for a steady /o/. Follow the length indicated in the transcription. Start at 0.75×, then return to 1.00× to hear the natural rhythm.
