The Letter U

In American English

In this lesson, we will learn about all the sounds of the letter U. It is the twenty-first letter of the English alphabet.

U is the twenty-first letter and the fifth vowel letter of the English alphabet.

Vowels are sounds that are pronounced without any restriction in the vocal tract. It means we can produce it with the unrestricted flow of air.

Uppercase Form	U
Lowercase	u
Name	u (pronounced /ˈjuː/)
Common Sounds	/ʌ/, /u/, /ə/, /ʊ/, /ju/, /w/, /ɜ/

Pie Chart of 'u' Pronunciation in American English

The Letter U: Sounds

Vowels in the English language can have many many sounds. Here we will look at some of its common ones.

Common Sounds

Sound 1: /ʌ/

The letter 'u' mainly sounds /ʌ/:

bus /bʌs/

under /ˈʌndər/

drum /drʌm/

Sound 2: /u/

'u' also sounds /u/ in some words:

absolute /ˈæbsəluːt/

convoluted /ˈkɑnvəˌlut̬ɪd/

June /dʒun/

Sound 3: /ə/

'u' can sound /ə/ if it comes before 's' in the last syllable of a word:

walrus /ˈwɔːlrəs/

circus /ˈsɜːrkəs/

virus /ˈvaɪrəs/

Sound 4: /ʊ/

'u' also sounds /ʊ/:

push /pʊʃ/

pull /pʊl/

bush /bʊʃ/

Sound 5: /ju/

'u' sometimes sounds /ju/:

use /juːz/

computer /kəmˈpjuːtər/

united /juˈnaɪtɪd/

Sound 6: /w/

'u' sometimes sounds /w/ if it is placed after 'g' or 'q' and before a vowel:

penguin /ˈpeŋɡwɪn/

quack /kwæk/

harlequin /ˈhɑːrləkwɪn/

Sound 7: /ɜ/

'u' also sounds /ɜ/ mainly when followed by the letter 'r':

burn /bɜrn/

nurse /nɜrs/

burst /bɜrst/

Other Sounds

Sound 8: /ɪ/

'u' also sounds /ɪ/ in some cases:

busy /ˈbɪzi/

business /ˈbɪznəs/

Sound 9: /jʊ/

'u' sounds /jʊ/:

purify /ˈpjʊrɪfaɪ/

fury /ˈfjʊri/

security /sɪˈkjʊrəti/

Tip!

The letter 'u' also has the /e/ sound in a few words:

bury /ˈberi/

The Letter U: Multigraphs

'U' can also appear in combination with other letters (mainly vowels and sometimes consonants). They can create distinct vowels:

ue

'ue' at the end or in the middle of words sounds /u:/

blue /bluː/

glue /ɡluː/

clue /kluː/

ui

'ui' commonly has two sounds:

/uː/
/ɪ/

1. 'ui' together sounds /uː/:

fruit /fruːt/

juice /dʒuːs/

suit /suːt/

2. However, 'ui' sometimes sounds /ɪ/:

biscuit /ˈbɪskɪt/

building /ˈbɪldɪŋ/

circuit /ˈsɜːkɪt/

ou

'ou' commonly has six sounds:

/aʊ/
/ʌ/
/uː/
/oʊ/
/ə/
/ʊ/

1. 'ou' in the middle of words has four sounds; the first one is /aʊ/:

house /haʊs/

cloud /klaʊd/

mountain /ˈmaʊntn/

2. 'ou' also sounds /ʌ/:

touch /tʌtʃ/

tough /tʌf/

cousin /ˈkʌz.ən/

3. 'ou' also sounds /uː/:

group /ɡruːp/

soup /suːp/

you /juː/

4. 'ou' also sounds /oʊ/:

shoulder /ˈʃoʊɫdɚ/

boulder /ˈboʊldɚ/

soul /soʊl/

5. 'ou' at the end of words sounds /ə/:

enormous /ɪˈnɔːrməs/

famous /ˈfeɪ.məs/

outrageous /ˌaʊtˈreɪ.dʒəs/

6. 'ou' also sounds /ʊ/:

contour /ˈkɑːn.tʊr/

tour /ˈtʊr/

tourist /ˈtʊr.ɪst/

Tip

In the word 'cough', the letters 'ou' sounds /ɑː/:

cough /kɑːf/

our

'our' commonly has two sounds:

/ɔːr/
/ʊr/

1. 'our' mainly sounds /ɔːr/:

four /fɔːr/

court /kɔːɹt/

2. 'our' also sounds /ʊr/:

contour /ˈkɑːntʊr/

tour /tʊr/

tourist /ˈtʊrɪst/

ough

'ough' commonly has four sounds:

/aʊ/
/əʊ/
/ɑː/
/ə/

1. 'ough' sounds /aʊ/:

drought /draʊt/

bough /baʊ/

2. 'ough' sounds /əʊ/ in some words:

although /ɔːlˈðəʊ/

doughnut /ˈdəʊnʌt/

3. 'ough' also sounds /ɑː/:

thought /θɑːt/

brought /brɑːt/

4. 'ough' also sounds /ə/:

thorough /ˈθʌrə/

borough /ˈbʌrə/

au

'au' commonly has two sounds:

/ɑː/
/æ/

1. 'au' sounds /ɑː/:

sauce /sɑːs/

August /ɑːˈɡʌst/

laundry /ˈlɑːn.dri/

2. 'au' also sounds /æ/:

aunt /ænt/

laugh /læf/

Tip!

'au' in French loanwords sounds /oʊ/:

aubergine /ˈoʊbɚʒin/

mauve /moʊv/

aur

'aur' sounds /ɔːr/:

centaur /ˈsentɔːr/

tyrannosaurus /tɪˌrænəˈsɔːrəs/

augh

'augh' sounds /ɑː/:

caught /kɑːt/

daughter /ˈdɑːt̬ɚ/

naughty /ˈnɑːt̬i/

eau

'eau' mainly in French loanwords sounds /əʊ/:

gateau /ɡɑˈtoʊ/

chateau /ʃæˈtoʊ/

plateau /plæˈtoʊ/

Orthography

One thing to note is that certain varieties of the English language (i.e. British English, Canadian English, etc.) use the letter U in words such as colour, labour, valour, etc.; however, in American English the letter is not used and said words mentioned are spelled as color and so on.

The Letter U: Uses

The letter ⟨u⟩ is used in
text messaging and internet and other written slang to denote 'you', by virtue of both being pronounced /juː/.

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