Trap 12 of 22 · French speakers
-ture says CHER: nature, culture, picture
-ture se dit « tcheur » : nature, culture, picture
What French speakers do
You keep the French ending: na-TURE, cul-TURE, with the stress at the end and a French u.
The American rule
T + Y → CH. The ending -ture is a weak -cher, and the stress moves to the front: NAY-cher, KUL-cher.
This is the hidden-Y rule again, with T: the written tu was once "t-you", and "t-you" becomes ch (say "got you" fast: got-cha).
Two changes, both important:
- -ture → -cher, with a weak vowel: nature = NAY-cher, rhyming with teacher.
- The stress moves to the front. French puts the weight on the last syllable (na-TURE); English puts it on the first.
The same t + you → ch happens in the middle of words: situation (sich-oo-AY-shun), actual (AK-choo-ul).
The words
nature
/ˈneɪtʃɚ/
✗na-TÜR
✓NAY-cher
“I love spending time in nature.”
culture
/ˈkʌltʃɚ/
✗kül-TÜR
✓KUL-cher
“The company has a great culture.”
picture
/ˈpɪktʃɚ/
✗pik-TÜR
✓PIK-cher
“Can you take a picture of us?”
future
/ˈfjutʃɚ/
✗fü-TÜR
✓FYOO-cher
“We are planning for the future.”
temperature
/ˈtɛmpɚətʃɚ/
✗tan-pé-ra-TÜR
✓TEM-per-uh-cher
“The temperature dropped last night.”
adventure
/ədˈvɛntʃɚ/
✗ad-van-TÜR
✓ud-VEN-cher
“That trip was a real adventure.”
structure
/ˈstrʌktʃɚ/
✗strük-TÜR
✓STRUK-cher
“The structure of the essay is clear.”
literature
/ˈlɪtɚətʃɚ/
✗li-té-ra-TÜR
✓LID-er-uh-cher
“She studied English literature.”
situation
/ˌsɪtʃuˈeɪʃən/
✗si-tü-a-SYOHN
✓sich-oo-AY-shun
“It's a difficult situation.”
actual
/ˈæktʃuəl/
✗ak-tü-EL
✓AK-choo-ul
“The actual cost was higher.”
mutual
/ˈmjutʃuəl/
✗mü-tü-EL
✓MYOO-choo-ul
“We have a mutual friend.”
virtue
/ˈvɝtʃu/
✗vir-TÜ
✓VUR-choo
“Patience is a virtue.”