Forming the feminine of adjectives ending in -u in French

In French, the adjectives ending in -u have a specific ending in the feminine form.

The feminine form of adjectives ending in -u in French

Look at these adjectives:

Il pousse un cri aigu à cause d'une douleur aigüe.He gives a sharp scream because of a sharp pain.

Cet homme ambigu a eu une fin ambigüe.This ambiguous man had an ambiguous end.

C'est un espace contigu dans une maison contigüe.This is a contiguous space in a contiguous house.

Note that adjectives ending in -u (and NOT derived from verbs) become -üe in the written form, but are pronounced in exactly the same way as the masculine form. 

(The diaresis, ü, indicates here that the u is pronounced as a separate vowel, otherwise, for example, aigue would be pronounced rather like 'egg' in English.) 

Note that before the 1990s, the alternative -uë was the accepted spelling, and is still deemed acceptable now.

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Examples and resources

C'est un espace contigu dans une maison contigüe.This is a contiguous space in a contiguous house.
Il pousse un cri aigu à cause d'une douleur aigüe.He gives a sharp scream because of a sharp pain.
Cet homme ambigu a eu une fin ambigüe.This ambiguous man had an ambiguous end.
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