Trap 18 of 22 · French speakers
-ous says US: famous, nervous, delicious
-ous se dit « eus » : famous, nervous, delicious
What French speakers do
You use the French -eux sound, stressed at the end: fa-MEU, ner-VEU, dé-li-SYEU.
The American rule
-ous = a weak US (/əs/), with a clear S at the end. The stress goes earlier: FAY-mus, NUR-vus.
French adjectives in -eux (fameux, nerveux, délicieux, dangereux) have English twins in -ous. The English ending is a tiny, unstressed -us, and the S is always pronounced.
Watch the vowels in front of it too: famous starts with the gliding AY (FAY-mus), and -cious / -tious is -shus: delicious = dih-LISH-us.
The words
famous
/ˈfeɪməs/
✗fa-MEU
✓FAY-mus
“He's a famous chef.”
nervous
/ˈnɝvəs/
✗nèR-VEU
✓NUR-vus
“I'm a little nervous.”
delicious
/dɪˈlɪʃəs/
✗dé-li-SYEU
✓dih-LISH-us
“This is delicious!”
dangerous
/ˈdeɪndʒərəs/
✗dan-jé-REU
✓DAYN-jer-us
“That road is dangerous.”
serious
/ˈsɪriəs/
✗sé-RYEU
✓SEER-ee-us
“Are you serious?”
curious
/ˈkjʊriəs/
✗kü-RYEU
✓KYOOR-ee-us
“I'm curious about it.”
generous
/ˈdʒɛnərəs/
✗jé-né-REU
✓JEN-er-us
“That's very generous of you.”
jealous
/ˈdʒɛləs/
✗ja-LOU
✓JEL-us
“Don't be jealous.”
anxious
/ˈæŋkʃəs/
✗an-SYEU
✓ANGK-shus
“She felt anxious before the exam.”
various
/ˈvɛriəs/
✗va-RYÉ
✓VAIR-ee-us
“We tried various options.”
precious
/ˈprɛʃəs/
✗pRé-SYEU
✓PRESH-us
“Time is precious.”