Spelling the sound [ ]

The spelling of a sound may be influenced by several factors:

  •   syllable structure: open or closed
  •   environment
  •   the position of the sound within a word: initial, middle, final
  •   a combination of two or more of the above

Conversely, how letters and letter groupings are pronounced may depend on different
factors:
  •   syllable structure: open or closed
  •   environment
  •   the position of the letter within a word: initial, middle, final
  •   a combination of two or more of the above

How to spell it?

The sound [ ] is most often represented by the following vowel groupings:

  •   "ou" (the most common spelling)             nous
  •   "où"             où
  •   "oû"             goût
  •   "aoû"             août
  •   other letters or letter groupings in words coming from foreign languages:
            English             cl ow n, f oo tball
            Italian             t u tti fr u tti