œufs et œuf.

Question

I was a bit shocked, as one of the things that is alway drummed into anglophones is that, while "œuf" is pronounced urf, "œufs" is pronounced without either f or s, "er" - similar sound to deux. Yet, in this dictée four eggs are very clearly described as œufs!

Is this a mistake, or is the whole "œuf/œufs thing" (that we anglophones are told is so important!) really just a bit of a myth, and all down to personal preference ?

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Interesting comment, Jim!
You are absolutely correct in thinking that the pronunciation of 'œufs' should sound like 'deux,' but in the case of quatre, you have to pronounce it like un œuf for the sake of euphony.
Try and say 'quatre œufs' the other way and you will see what I mean. The same problem occurs with 'sept œufs', which can sound like 'c'est eux'!
Hope this helps!

Maarten Kamp · Answer

Cécile, 
I also found Jim’s observation and comment interesting. 
As I had never heard of this change in pronunciation that Jim also found unusual, I was not expecting this answer ! 
It turns out that it is also unknown or not used by my native French speaker sources from the east, and it is not mentioned in Larousse, Robert or the Académie Française dictionaries as far as I could find. 
So, in this day and age, I asked Claude AI to retrieve some information to help !
My questions and its responses were quite long ( if you are interested I can email directly rather than post fully here ) 
 Edited, Claude AI noted:  
 
 “ The key source here is *Le Bon Usage* by Grevisse & Goosse (2016 edition, p. 737) …. It records that, in popular speech, particularly in Paris, speakers make a distinction in the plural: œufs is pronounced [ø] (without the f) when there is a [z] liaison with what precedes — as in *deux œufs*, *de beaux œufs* — but [œf] (with the f) in other cases, such as *quatre œufs*.  
 
… the f genuinely does resurface for some speakers in certain positions. But …. Grevisse actually says about this: it’s a pattern observed in **“le peuple, notamment à Paris”** — that is, it’s a colloquial Parisian usage, not a formal rule. 
And the logic behind it is not “euphony”  - it’s simply a **phonological pattern**: the f drops when a liaison [z] is already present before the word (providing a clear word boundary), but re-emerges when no such liaison exists and the word would otherwise end in an ambiguous open vowel.
(Grevisse ) …. also cites a fascinating 1951 linguistic study …. that speakers say *deux œufs*, *trois œufs* without the f, but then the f resurfaces with *quatre* and *cinq* — *quatre œuf, cinq œuf* — disappears again with *six* — *six œufs* [zø] — and reappears with *sept* and *huit*.  This maps exactly onto which numbers end in a consonant that can liaison versus which don’t — it’s a phonological pattern, not a euphony rule.
The French Wiktionary entry on *œuf* also notes this directly: the traditional pronunciation of the plural œufs is [ø], but certain speakers pronounce it as [œf] after a consonant other than [z]. “
So to summarise where that leaves you:
“ … the f can resurface in *quatre œufs*** for some speakers, and this is attested in reputable sources …
it’s not about euphony 
…. it’s a phonological tendency linked to whether a liaison [z] precedes the word …
…. it’s a **regional/sociolect variation**, which is why your wife from eastern France doesn’t know it ….   “ 
End of edit from Claude AI
Not knowing who the speaker is or their regional origin ( Cécile is originally from Versailles though ), although it is not restricted to Paris, this exception to the usual prononciation of the plural as given in the dictation, appears to be far from universal across France. 
The quirks of language !
 See also this discussion on wordreference forum :
 https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%C5%93uf-%C5%93ufs-prononciation.293660/

Jim Luetchford · Answer

Quelle boîte de vers on a ouvert ! Mdr

Maarten Kamp · Answer

Jim,

I also asked about ‘ blanc d’œuf ‘, singular and plural variants and their pronunciations.

I think Claude AI is still recovering from the ‘ brain pain ‘ of trying to get its head around the French and Canadian native speakers discussing that issue !

As Claude said ‘ This is a genuinely fascinating rabbit hole, and the sources reveal that both the spelling and pronunciation questions are far messier than any learner’s guide would suggest. ‘

Cécile Janty-Davies · Answer

Just to add to this fascinating discussion, I have given the matter a lot of consideration over the last few days and made some enquiries in France.
The irregular plural of nouns is drilled into us at primary school in France and we know that the following are

un œuf becomes des œufs
un bœuf becomes des bœufs (pronounced 'beux')
un œil becomes des yeux

The problem is with quatre in particular, as it ends in a vowel sound -
ca —- tre (often pronounced quat’)
I had been wondering if the expression 'four-eyes’ was used in France to describe somebody who wears glasses.
And it appears that you can say ‘quat’ zieux’ by introducing a z sound to make it pronounceable!
Having consulted with the team on the pronunciation of 4 eggs in the dictation, we stand by it.

Maarten Kamp · Answer

Cécile,

There is clearly no problem in keeping the recording as is - it is a variant in usage, which I think answers Jim’s question, but the inference that it is the standard, or only way to pronounce the words, is not supported by the major references, internet community forums, or AI reviews :

this time from Google’s Gemini :

“ Pronunciation in Metropolitan French

While the silent "f" is the academic standard, spoken metropolitan French exhibits some variation, particularly when preceded by certain numbers:

Standard Usage: For most plural contexts, such as les œufs ("lay-zeu") or six œufs ("see-zeu"), the "f" is completely absent, and a strong liaison is made with the preceding word's final consonant (often a /z/ sound).

The "Quatre Œufs" Case: In phrases like quatre œufs, the standard pronunciation is /katʁø/. However, because /ø//ø/is a very short, singular vowel sound, some speakers find it "unnatural" or difficult to distinguish.

Consequently, some variants exist:

Non-standard Variant: Some speakers may occasionally pronounce the "f" (as in the singular) to clarify the word, though this is academically viewed as incorrect.

Regional/Individual Variation: Some evidence suggests that a third way—pronouncing œufs like the singular when there is no /z/ liaison before it (e.g., quatre œufs or cinq œufs)—is used by some, though it remains a minority variant. “

If other AI reviews or manual searches can provide authoritative evidence otherwise, would be good to see the references.