Pronunciation Guide • English (from French)

How to Pronounce queue

Difficulty: medium

IPA Transcription

/kjuː/

Why is it so hard to pronounce?

Pronounced exactly like the letter "Q". Just /kjuː/. Five letters, but only one is pronounced. Queue is the only English word where removing 4 of its letters still leaves it sounding the same — q-u-e-u-e: remove "ueue" and you still have "q".

💡 Pro Tip for queue

It sounds like the letter Q. That's it. KYOO.

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Word Origins

The term queue originates from French "queue" (tail). Understanding its etymology helps explain why it breaks standard pronunciation rules.