LingoDrop
French · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "nouveau" in French?
noo-VOH — two syllables, two rounded vowels, and no consonant at the end.
nou-VEAU, lift on the second syllable. Both vowels are rounded, so your lips stay forward for the whole word — a useful physical check.
Listen: nouveau
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
J'ai un nouveau téléphone.
I have a new phone.
Listen: J'ai un nouveau téléphone.
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"J'ai un nouveau téléphone" places the adjective before the noun, which is where "nouveau" belongs. Watch for the third form: before a vowel the masculine becomes "nouvel" (un nouvel ami), purely to avoid an awkward hiatus, and the feminine is "nouvelle". "Téléphone" has two accented "e"s, both closed "ay", and ends in a silent "e": tay-lay-FON.
Where English speakers slip
The English "nouveau" from "nouveau riche" carries an anglicized stress on the first syllable and a diphthong at the end. French puts the weight on the second syllable and keeps the "eau" as one steady "oh". Grammatically, the trap is "un nouveau ami", which no French speaker would say — it has to be "un nouvel ami", and the "l" links straight into the vowel.