Today's French word is poupée

Which I'd always thought was pronounced poo-pee because I heard one of my students pronounce it that way. But maybe she was saying it in the cute way?

It means "doll," by the way.

Learner: My wife wants a baby girl, because she says girls can be like puppets.
Me: Puppets?
Learner: Yes, you know, like you can play with it, with dresses.
Me: Are you translating from French? As in the word... um ... poo-pee?
Learner: No, not puppy!
Me: I don't mean puppy, I mean poo-pee, like the French word for "doll."
Learner: I don't know "doll."
Me: Girls play with dolls. They dress it up.
Learner: Oh, yes! My wife wants a baby girl, because girls can be like dolls.
Me: Is doll poo-pee in French?
Learner: No, it's poo-pe.
Me: Oh... That's why you thought I meant "puppy." And now I see why you said "puppet." "Puppet" can be correct too, but I wanted to be sure what you meant.
Learner: I don't know "puppet."
Me: You know those dolls you can control? You can make them move and speak.
Learner: Oh, yes! But now we're talking about men, not girls.