@candle @sempervirenx You keep mixing up jeûne (in "déjeuner", lunch) with jeune (as in "jeunesse", youth).

They're completely different words, but I'm not sure I can make it easier to remember...

The eating one is actually from the root word "jeun" (pronounced like "j'un"), so that "jeûne" form sounds closer to "je" - with a n behind.

Whereas young/jeune (same root for this word, see the German version 'yung') is - because it's the same origin as yours - a much more open "e", closer to the English determinant "a".

As for telling them apart in writing... Perhaps remember there is no word related to young that starts with a "breaking" prefix "dé-"? ^^°