French · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "l'œil (m.)" in French?

Q: How do you pronounce l'œil (m.) in French?

l'œil (m.) is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /lœj/. It means “eye (pl. les yeux).” luh-y — one syllable, with the rounded /œ/ vowel and a "y" glide. And the plural is completely different: "les yeux".

luh-y — one syllable, with the rounded /œ/ vowel and a "y" glide. And the plural is completely different: "les yeux".

l'œil (m.) /lœj/

One syllable, article included. The plural is suppletive — "les yeux", /le.z‿jø/ — which shares no sounds with the singular except the glide. This is one of the most irregular nouns in the language.

Listen: l'œil (m.)

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Sound it out

l' The article "le" with its vowel elided before the vowel-initial noun.

œ The ligature giving the open rounded vowel /œ/, as in "neuf" and "sœur". Lips rounded, tongue mid-front. It is one typographic character, not two letters.

il A "y" glide /j/, not an "l". The "-eil" and "-œil" endings both work this way.

Hear it in a sentence

J'ai quelque chose dans l'œil.

I've got something in my eye.

Listen: J'ai quelque chose dans l'œil.

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"J'ai quelque chose dans l'œil" uses "dans" for something being in your eye. "Quelque chose" compresses to roughly "kelk-SHOHZ" in speech. The elision in "l'œil" is required — you can never say "le œil". Note that the plural would change everything: "dans les yeux".

Where English speakers slip

The ending gets a real "l", producing "loyl" or "leel". It is a "y" glide, so the word finishes on a vowel-like sound. The ligature also startles people, but it is just the /œ/ vowel. And the plural catches everyone out — "les œils" does not exist; it is "les yeux", with an obligatory "z" liaison from "les".