UE
/y.ø/feminine
eu refers to the European Union in French. Use UE.
In French, the European Union is referred to by the acronym UE. The sound 'eu' is commonly represented by the letters 'eu' or 'œu' in formal French.
Meaning: European Union (name)
How does it change in a sentence?
The acronym UE is grammatically feminine because it stands for Union européenne. Because UE begins with a vowel sound, the definite article la becomes l’ in the singular form, appearing as l'UE.
How do you pronounce it?
/y.ø/
Did you know?
- The sound of the letters in the acronym UE is actually much more complex than it looks, as the letter 'u' in French is pronounced /y/, a sound that does not exist in English.
- While the acronym is UE, French speakers often refer to the EU as l'Europe in casual conversation to avoid the clinical sound of the initialism.
- The vowel sound in eu is shared with the word for 'egg', œuf, though the latter uses the ligature œu.
Examples in context
- L'UE n'est-elle qu'un groupement d'intérêts économiques ?Is the EU just a grouping of economic interests?This sentence is useful for discussing whether the UE is merely a group of economic interests.Tatoeba #1144557 by sacredceltic, translation #12772054 by rul
- L'Office européen de lutte antifraude, connu sous l'acronyme français de l'OLAF, est responsable de la lutte contre la fraude contre l'UE.The European Anti-fraud Office, known by the French acronym OLAF, is responsible for combating fraud against the EU.This sentence shows how the UE is protected by agencies like OLAF.Tatoeba #4299694 by Scorpionvenin14, translation #4297085 by Ronin1134
- L'UE demande également l'ouverture d'une enquête sur l'incident et envisage de sanctionner les fonctionnaires biélorusses responsables du détournement de l'avion.The EU is also calling for an investigation into the incident and is planning to sanction Belarusian officials responsible for the aircraft's diversion.This sentence illustrates the UE calling for investigations and sanctions.Tatoeba #10224640 by Micsmithel, translation #10066908 by shekitten
- PeurFear
- RecueilCollection
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are discussing current events in class.
- LéaEst-ce que la France est membre de l'UE ?Is France a member of the EU?
- HugoOui, elle fait partie de l'UE depuis longtemps.Yes, it has been part of the EU for a long time.
- LéaL'UE a des règles très strictes pour le commerce.The EU has very strict rules for trade.
- HugoC'est vrai, Hugo est d'accord avec toi, Léa.That's true, Hugo agrees with you, Léa.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “eu” translations and entries UE, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
