tu / tout: u and ou
CEFR A1
tu
/ty/
you
tout
/tu/
everything
What tells the two sounds apart
- /y/Tongue forward as for i, with rounded lips.
- /u/Tongue back and lips rounded.
Why it is hard
Do not turn French u into the vowel of English too or a sequence like yoo. Keep the tongue forward and round the lips for tu; tout has the tongue further back.
Tu vois tout dans la rue.
To practise
- rue/ʁy/street
- roue/ʁu/wheel
- dessus/dəsy/on top
- dessous/dəsu/underneath