One syllable: Nous.
noos
/nus/
Nous is pronounced noos (/nus/). It has one syllable (Nous), with the stress on "Nous". Nous is a masculine noun referring to “we” in French, used as a subject or object pronoun to denote a collective group including the speaker. In other languages it may appear as a placeholder or loanword; in English discourse it’s typically used in discussions of French language or philosophy. The term contrasts with singular pronouns and appears in formal, academic, and everyday contexts when referencing a group.
nounNous is a masculine noun referring to “we” in French, used as a subject or object pronoun to denote a collective group including the speaker. In other languages it may appear as a placeholder or loanword; in English discourse it’s typically used in discussions of French language or philosophy. The term contrasts with singular pronouns and appears in formal, academic, and everyday contexts when referencing a group.
- Common challenge: producing a clean /nuː/ without turning it into a diphthong or adding extraneous consonants. Solution: practice with a mirror; keep lips rounded just enough to keep the vowel compact. - Mistake: pronouncing a final /s/. Correction: remember liaison rules; say /nu/ unless the context requires a following vowel or consonant. - Mistake: misplacing tongue for /n/; the tongue should touch the alveolar ridge lightly without excessive pressure. Correction: practice slow, single-syllable articulation and ensure air flows steadily.
"Nous allons au café. (We are going to the cafe.)"
"Nous pensons que c’est une bonne idée. (We think that’s a good idea.)"
"Nous avons fini nos devoirs. (We have finished our homework.)"
Pronounce it as /nuː/ in American and British English, with the French nasal vowel avoidance; start with an alveolar nasal /n/, glide into a long high back vowel like 'oo' in 'food', and keep the lips rounded but relaxed. The final s is silent in French unless liaison occurs, so you typically don’t pronounce an /s/. IPA: /nu/. In many English contexts you’ll see /nuː/ or /nuːz/ when the word is extended or pluralized in casual speech. Practice by rounding lips gently and keeping a steady, even tone; the vowel should be tense but not excessively stretched.
Common mistakes include adding an audible final /s/ or turning the vowel into a diphthong in English speech. Another error is misplacing the tongue for the /n/ or pronouncing /nu/ with a lax, short vowel. To correct: keep the vowel as a tense, uninterrupted /uː/ as in 'goose', avoid adding a /z/ unless liaison is used, and maintain a neutral mouth shape without excessive rounding.
Across accents, the core /nu/ remains, but the vowel color and final consonant can shift. US English may render it as /nuː/ with a clear long vowel and no r-coloring. UK speakers often keep the same vowel but with slightly crisper consonants; Australian speakers may maintain length but with more centralized vowel quality. In all cases, the final /s/ is silent unless a liaison occurs. The key is preserving the pure /uː/ vowel and avoiding adding a voiced ending.
The difficulty lies in producing a clean, single-syllable /nu/ without triggering a trailing /z/ or a diphthong, which English speakers often do when borrowing words. The silent final /s/ can also be misapplied in liaison, causing confusion about when to pronounce it. Mastery requires you to hold a tense /uː/ vowel and keep the tongue high and back without rounding too aggressively, ensuring the /n/ blends smoothly into the vowel.
Does ‘Nous’ ever carry a stress or syllable emphasis in typical usage? No; French “nous” is a monosyllable and carries no particular stress beyond the normal sentence stress pattern. In English discourse, the word remains monosyllabic with a stable /nuː/ vowel, though emphasis in a sentence might temporarily highlight it as part of a topic or contrast.
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- US: /nuː/ with a straightforward, high back rounded vowel; avoid rhotic coloring. - UK: /nuː/ with crisp consonant release and shorter vowel duration in casual speech; keep tongue close to palate. - AU: /nuː/ with slightly more centralized vowel quality; maintain steady state with minimal lip rounding. All: silent final s unless liaison occurs; avoid adding a z.
Nous derives from French pronoun nous meaning “we,” used for the first-person plural. Its ultimate Indo-European root is the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *me-/*moi for ‘me’ and *nos- for ‘we,’ reflecting a common pattern of first-person plural pronouns across Romance languages. In French, the pronoun developed from Latin nos, unchanged in spelling since classical Latin. The term has long been central to French syntax, where subject and object positions can be flexible, and it is deeply embedded in philosophical and literary contexts, often appearing in discussions of collective action and social responsibility. In English discourse about French language or philosophy, nous is typically marked as a loanword and italicized in formal writing. First known uses appear in Old French texts with standard spelling nous and later in Modern French with identical form. In broader use, “nous” has influenced academic and cross-linguistic discussions of pronoun usage, group identity, and inclusive language, often contrasted with singular forms like moi/je or tu/vous depending on formality and number.
💡 Etymology tip: Understanding word origins can help you remember pronunciation patterns and recognize related words in the same language family.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Nous" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Nous" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Nous"
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