French · Difficult words
How to pronounce seul in French
seul
Lonely
French of France · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
seul is pronounced /sœl/ in French. In seul: Keep your tongue toward the front while rounding your lips. /y/ is close to an “ee” tongue position with rounded lips; /ø/ and /œ/ are more open. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
Speak with an AI partner · 7 days free
Find the sounds in seul
The reference transcription for seul is /sœl/. 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.Rounded front vowels
In seul: Keep your tongue toward the front while rounding your lips. /y/ is close to an “ee” tongue position with rounded lips; /ø/ and /œ/ are more open.
Watch out: English “oo” puts the tongue too far back for these vowels.
2.A clear /s/
In seul: Let air pass through a narrow groove near the front of the mouth. Keep the sound unvoiced.
Watch out: Do not add voicing and turn /s/ into /z/.
Hear it in context
Je me sens seul le dimanche soir.
I feel lonely on Sunday evenings.
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
seul 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 seul
How do you pronounce seul?
seul is pronounced /sœl/ in French. In seul: Keep your tongue toward the front while rounding your lips. /y/ is close to an “ee” tongue position with rounded lips; /ø/ and /œ/ are more open. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
What should I listen for first?
In seul: Keep your tongue toward the front while rounding your lips. /y/ is close to an “ee” tongue position with rounded lips; /ø/ and /œ/ are more open. Start at 0.75×, then return to 1.00× to hear the natural rhythm.
