IPA – number 311
IPA – text œ
IPA – image
Entity œ
X-SAMPA 9
Kirshenbaum W
Sound sample (help·info)

The open-mid front rounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is œ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is 9. The symbol œ is a ligature of the letters o and e. Note that ɶ, a small version of the capital Œ ligature, is used for the open front rounded vowel.

Features

• Its vowel height is open-mid, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between an open vowel and a mid vowel.
• Its vowel backness is front, which means the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
• Its roundedness is compressed, which means that the margins of the lips approach one another, so that the inner surfaces are not exposed.

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Azeri öküz [œˈcyz] 'ox'
Chinese Cantonese 靴/hoe1 [hœː˥] 'boots' See Cantonese phonology
Mandarin 月/yuè [ɥœ˥˩] 'moon' See Mandarin phonology
Danish høne [hœːnə] 'hen' See Danish phonology
Faroese løgdu [lœdːʊ] 'laid' (pl.)
French[1] jeune [ʒœn] 'young' See French phonology
German Hölle [ˈhœlə] 'hell' See German phonology
Hungarian könny [kœɲː] 'tear' (n) See Hungarian phonology
Icelandic þö [θœ] 'however'
Norwegian øl [œl] 'beer' See Norwegian phonology
Occitan Auvergnat puei (puèi) [ˈpœj] 'then' Some dialects, especially the northern ones
Limousin
Swedish nött [nœtː] (help·info) 'worn' (past part. s.) See Swedish phonology
Turkish gör [ɡœɾ] 'see' (imp.)
Western Lombard fioeu [fjœː] 'son' Old Milanese; now an allophone of /ø/

References

Bibliography

• Fougeron, Cecile; Smith, Caroline L (1993), "Illustrations of the IPA:French", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 23 (2): 73–76