French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "amoureux" in French?

a-moo-RUH — three beats, ending in the rounded /ø/ vowel with a silent "x".

amoureux /a.mu.ʁø/

a-mou-REUX, weight on the final syllable. Two different rounded vowels in a row — the back /u/ then the front /ø/ — which is a good test of your rounding control.

Listen: amoureux

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Sound it out

a A short open "ah", unstressed.

mou An "m" plus the back "oo" of "soup", lips forward.

reu A uvular "r" plus the rounded vowel /ø/, as in "deux": tongue in the "ay" position, lips pushed into a circle.

x Silent. The feminine "amoureuse" replaces it with a "z" and adds a syllable.

Hear it in a sentence

Il est amoureux d'elle.

He's in love with her.

Listen: Il est amoureux d'elle.

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"Il est amoureux d'elle" carries a liaison: "est amoureux" links the silent "t" of "est" into the vowel, /ɛ.t‿a.mu.ʁø/. Then "de elle" elides to "d'elle". French says "amoureux de" where English says "in love with" — the preposition is different, and using "avec" would be an error.

Where English speakers slip

The two rounded vowels get merged into one, usually both becoming "oo". The first is back and the second is front. Learners also pronounce the "x". And the preposition trap is worth flagging: "amoureux avec elle" is wrong; it must be "amoureux d'elle".