What are some rules of pronunciation to sound more like a native French speaker?

How to Pronounce the French “u” Sound There’s no sound like the French “u” in English. It’s not the same as an English “oo” sound. French has both the English “oo” and a distinct “u” sound, so you’ll want to learn to pronounce them differently in order to avoid any misunderstandings. To correctly pronounce the “u” sound, try this. Say the word “you” in English. Now, get rid of the letter y at the beginning of the word and focus on the “ooh” sound. Basically your lips are saying “ou”, which will sound strange at first, but sounds normal when applied to spoken French. And voilà! You have the French “u” sound! An extra tip I would add is not to elongate the sound of "(y)ou" too much, as you perhaps would in English. Exercise: Try pronouncing the following pairs of words, to really hear the difference between “u” and “ou”: jus and joue en-dessus and en-dessous (don’t mix these ones up; they have exact opposite meanings!) cure and cour juin and bédouin