10 mots français avec le son -euil
A2 French poslechová cvičení · Francouzština · Vybráno pro začátečníci
Why is it “accueil” and not “acceuil” in French?
The sound [œj] at the end of a word is normally written -euil: un fauteuil, le seuil, un écureuil. After c or g, French writes -ueil instead so the consonant stays hard: accueil, recueil, cercueil, orgueil. Before e or i, both c and g normally soften — without the u, “acceuil” would be read “asseuil.” The u is what keeps the hard sound.
The swap carries through the whole family: accueillir, cueillir, recueillir, le recueillement, orgueilleux. Keep those apart from the plain -euil words: le seuil, le chevreuil. Same sound family, different spelling: la feuille, le millefeuille (written -euille, not -euil). And écureuil (squirrel) is worth practising on its own — it is a standing tongue-twister for learners.