# Near-close near-back rounded vowel

IPA: Vowels :
IPA help
 audio
full chart
template
Legend: unrounded • rounded :
The near-close near-back rounded vowel, or near-high near-back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The IPA symbol that represents this sound is ⟨ʊ⟩. It is informally called "horseshoe u". Prior to 1989, there was an alternative IPA symbol for this sound, ⟨ɷ⟩, called "closed omega"; use of this symbol is no longer sanctioned by the IPA. In Americanist phonetic notation, the symbol ⟨ᴜ⟩ (a small capital U) is used. Sometimes, especially in broad transcription, this vowel is transcribed with a simpler symbol ⟨u⟩, which technically represents the close back rounded vowel.
Handbook of the International Phonetic Association defines [ʊ] as a mid-centralized (lowered and centralized) close back rounded vowel (transcribed [u̽] or [ü̞]), and the current official IPA name of the vowel transcribed with the symbol ⟨ʊ⟩ is near-close near-back rounded vowel. However, some languages have the close-mid near-back rounded vowel, a vowel that is somewhat lower than the canonical value of [ʊ], though it still fits the definition of a mid-centralized [u]. It occurs in some dialects of English (such as General American and Geordie) as well as some other languages (such as Maastrichtian Limburgish). It can be transcribed with the symbol ⟨ʊ̞⟩ (a lowered ⟨ʊ⟩) in narrow transcription. For the close-mid (near-)back rounded vowel that is not usually transcribed with the symbol ⟨ʊ⟩ (or ⟨u⟩), see close-mid back rounded vowel.
In some other languages (such as Bengali and Luxembourgish) as well as some dialects of English (such as Scottish) there is a fully back near-close rounded vowel (a sound between cardinal [u] and [o]), which can be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʊ̠⟩, ⟨u̞⟩ or ⟨o̝⟩.

## Near-close back protruded vowel

The near-close back protruded vowel is typically transcribed in IPA simply as ⟨ʊ⟩, and that is the convention used in this article. As there is no dedicated diacritic for protrusion in the IPA, symbol for the near-close back rounded vowel with an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨ ̫⟩, can be used as an ad hoc symbol ⟨ʊ̫⟩ for the near-close back protruded vowel. Another possible transcription is ⟨ʊʷ⟩ or ⟨ɯ̽ʷ⟩ (a near-close back vowel modified by endolabialization), but this could be misread as a diphthong.
The close-mid near-back protruded vowel can be transcribed ⟨ʊ̞ʷ⟩ or ⟨ʊ̫˕⟩, whereas the fully back near-close protruded vowel can be transcribed ⟨u̞ʷ⟩, ⟨ɯ̞ʷ⟩ or ⟨u̫˕⟩.

### Features

* Its vowel height is near-close, also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as a close vowel (high vowel).
* Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. The prototypical [ʊ] is somewhat further front (near-back) than the neighboring cardinal vowels.
* Its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed. The prototypical [ʊ] has a weak protruded rounding, more like [ɔ] than the neighboring cardinal vowels.

### Occurrence

Because back rounded vowels are assumed to have protrusion, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some of the following may actually have compression. In the table below, vowels transcribed with ⟨o̝⟩ have a considerably stronger rounding than the prototypical value of ⟨ʊ⟩.
| Language | Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes |
| Afrikaans | Standard | Botha | [ˈbʊ̞ˑta] | 'Botha' | Close-mid. Allophone of /ʊə/ in less stressed words, in stressed syllables of polysyllabic words and word-finally when unstressed. In the second case, it is in free variation with the diphthongal realization [ʊə̯ ~ ʊ̯ə ~ ʊə]. See Afrikaans phonology |
| Arabic | Hejazi | قُلْت/gult | [gʊlt] | 'I said' | Allophone of /u/ in medial and initial positions. See Hejazi phonology |
| Assamese | Assamese | কোৰ/kûr | [kʊɹ] | 'hoe' | Close-mid; also described as open [ɒ]. |
| Bengali | Bengali | তুমি/tumī | [ˈt̪u̞ˌmiː] | 'you' | Fully back; typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨u⟩. See Bengali phonology |
| Burmese | Burmese | မွတ်/mā | [mʊʔ] | 'smooth' | Allophone of /u/ in syllables closed by a glottal stop and when nasalized. |
| Chinese | Mandarin | 红 / hóng | | 'red' | Fully back; height varies between mid and close depending on the speaker. See Standard Chinese phonology |
| Chinese | Shanghainese | 瓜/kù | [kʊ¹] | 'melon' | The height varies between close and close-mid; contrasts with a close to close-mid back compressed vowel. |
| Danish | Standard | mave | [ˈmɛːʊ] | 'stomach' | Phonetic realization of the sequence /və/. See Danish phonology |
| Dutch | Standard Northern | oren | [ˈʊːrə(n)] | 'ears' | Allophone of /oː/ before /r/. Can be a centering diphthong [ʊə] instead, especially before coda /r/. See Dutch phonology |
| Dutch | Randstad | oren | [ˈʊːrə(n)] | 'ears' | Allophone of /oː/ before /r/. Can be a centering diphthong [ʊə] instead, especially before coda /r/. See Dutch phonology |
| Dutch | Some speakers | hok | [ɦʊk] | 'den' | Contrasts with /ɔ/ in certain words, but many speakers have only one vowel /ɔ/. See Dutch phonology |
| English | Irish | hook | [hʊk] | 'hook' | |
| English | Welsh | hook | [hʊk] | 'hook' | In Cardiff, it is advanced and lowered to [ɵ], often also with unrounding to [ɘ]. |
| English | Cockney | hook | [ʊʔk] | 'hook' | Sometimes fronted to [ʊ̈]. |
| English | Conservative New Zealand | hook | [hʊʔk] | 'hook' | The height varies from near-close to close-mid. The innovative General New Zealand variant is fronted and unrounded to [ɪ̈ ~ ɘ]. See New Zealand English phonology |
| English | Conservative Received Pronunciation | hook | [hʊʔk] | 'hook' | Often lowered and advanced to [ɵ], or unrounded to [ɘ]. See English phonology |
| English | Multicultural London | hook | [hʊʔk] | 'hook' | May be front [ʏ] instead. |
| English | Norfolk | hook | [hʊʔk] | 'hook' | |
| English | Some Estuary speakers | hook | [hʊʔk] | 'hook' | Often advanced to [ʊ̈ ~ ʏ], or advanced and lowered to [ɵ ~ ʏ̞]. |
| English | General American | hook | [hʊ̞k] | 'hook' | Close-mid. |
| English | Geordie | hook | [hʊ̞k] | 'hook' | Close-mid. |
| English | Southern Michigan | hook | [hʊ̞k] | 'hook' | Close-mid. |
| English | Northern England | cut | [kʊt] | 'cut' | Phonetic realization of /ʌ/ in most dialects without the foot–strut split. |
| English | Local Dublin | cut | [kʊt] | 'cut' | Phonetic realization of /ʌ/ in most dialects without the foot–strut split. |
| English | Australian | thought | [θo̝ːt] | 'thought' | Fully back. In New Zealand English, the height varies from near-close [o̝ː] (a typical value in General NZE) to mid [o̞ː] (a typical value in Maori English). It corresponds to [ɔː] in other dialects. See Australian English phonology and New Zealand English phonology |
| English | General New Zealand | thought | [θo̝ːt] | 'thought' | Fully back. In New Zealand English, the height varies from near-close [o̝ː] (a typical value in General NZE) to mid [o̞ː] (a typical value in Maori English). It corresponds to [ɔː] in other dialects. See Australian English phonology and New Zealand English phonology |
| English | Scottish | go | [ɡo̝ː] | 'go' | Fully back. Corresponds to [oʊ]~[əʊ] in other dialects. |
| Faroese | Faroese | gult | [kʊɬt] | 'yellow' | See Faroese phonology |
| French | Quebec | foule | [fʊl] | 'crowd' | Allophone of /u/ in closed syllables. See Quebec French phonology |
| German | Standard | Stunde | | 'hour' | The quality has been variously described as near-close back [ʊ̠] and close-mid near-back [ʊ̞]. For some speakers, it may be as high as [u]. See Standard German phonology |
| Hindustani | Hindi | गुलाब/gulāb | [gʊˈläːb] | 'rose' | See Hindustani phonology |
| Hindustani | Urdu | گلاب/gulāb | [gʊˈläːb] | 'rose' | See Hindustani phonology |
| Hungarian | Hungarian | ujj | [ʊjː] | 'finger' | Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨u⟩. See Hungarian phonology |
| Irish | Munster | dubh | [d̪ˠʊvˠ] | 'black' | Allophone of /ʊ/ between broad consonants. See Irish phonology |
| Italian | Central-Southern accents | ombra | [ˈo̝mbrä] | 'shade' | Fully back; local realization of /o/. See Italian phonology |
| Kurdish | Kurmanji (Northern) | gul | [gʊl] | 'flower' | See Kurdish phonology |
| Kurdish | Sorani (Central) | گـوڵ/gul | [gʊl] | 'flower' | See Kurdish phonology |
| Kurdish | Palewani (Southern) | گـوڵ/gul | [gʊl] | 'flower' | See Kurdish phonology |
| Leonese | Leonese | butiellu | [buˈtjeʎʊ] | 'Botillo' | Allophone position of /u/ and /o/ in neutral position. |
| Limburgish | Some dialects | póp | [pʊ̞p] | 'doll' | Close-mid in the Maastrichtian dialect. The example word is from that dialect. |
| Lombard | Lombard | nox | [nʊs̠] | 'walnut' | Most common realization of /u/. |
| Luxembourgish | Luxembourgish | Sprooch | [ʃpʀo̝ːχ] | 'language' | Fully back. Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨oː⟩. See Luxembourgish phonology |
| Malay | Malay | mampus | [mam.pʊs] | 'die' | Allophone of /u/ in closed-final syllables. May be [o] or [o̞] depending on the speaker. See Malay phonology |
| Pashayi | Lower Darai Nur dialect | صُر/sar | [sʊ̞r] | 'sun' | Close-mid. |
| Portuguese | Brazilian | pulo | [ˈpulʊ] | 'leap' | Reduction and neutralization of unstressed /u, o, ɔ/; can be voiceless. See Portuguese phonology |
| Russian | Russian | сухой suhoj | | 'dry' | Unstressed allophone of /u/. See Russian phonology |
| Saterland Frisian | Saterland Frisian | Roop | [ʀo̝ːp] | 'rope' | Phonetic realization of /oː/ and /ʊ/. Near-close back [o̝ː] in the former case, close-mid near-back [ʊ̞] in the latter. Phonetically, the latter is nearly identical to /ɔː/ ([o̟ː]). |
| Scots | Glenoe dialect | go | [ɡo̝ː] | 'go' | Fully back. |
| Scots | Rathlin dialect | go | [ɡo̝ː] | 'go' | Fully back. |
| Scottish Gaelic | Some dialects | talamh | [ˈt̪ʰal̪ˠʊ] | 'land' | Reduction of word-final /əv/; a similar phenomenon is seen in Ulster Irish. |
| Sinhalese | Sinhalese | හුඟක්/huňgak | [ɦʊ̜ᵑɡak] | 'much' | Only weakly rounded; typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨u⟩. |
| Slovak | Slovak | ruka | [ˈru̞kä] | 'arm' | Typically fully back. See Slovak phonology |
| Sotho | Sotho | potso | [pʼʊ̠t͡sʼɔ] | 'query' | Fully back; contrasts close, near-close and close-mid back rounded vowels. See Sotho phonology |
| Spanish | Eastern Andalusian | tus | [t̪ʊ̠ː] | 'your' (pl.) | Fully back. Corresponds to [u] in other dialects, but in these dialects they are distinct. See Spanish phonology |
| Spanish | Murcian | tus | [t̪ʊ̠ː] | 'your' (pl.) | Fully back. Corresponds to [u] in other dialects, but in these dialects they are distinct. See Spanish phonology |
| Turkish | Turkish | buzlu | [buz̪ˈl̠ʊ] | 'icy' | Allophone of /u/ described variously as "word-final" and "occurring in final open syllable of a phrase". See Turkish phonology |
| Ukrainian | Ukrainian | Мусій | [mʊˈsij] | 'Musiy' (name) | See Ukrainian phonology |
| Welsh | Welsh | gẃraidd | [ɡʊ.raið] | 'manly' | See Welsh phonology |
| Yoruba | Yoruba | lati sun | [lati sũ̟] | 'to sleep' | Near-back or back; typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ũ⟩. It is nasalized, and may be close [ũ̟ ~ ũ] instead. |

## Near-close back compressed vowel

Some languages, such as Norwegian, are found with a near-close back vowel that has a distinct type of rounding, called compressed or exolabial.
There is no dedicated diacritic for compression in the IPA. However, the compression of the lips can be shown with the letter ⟨β̞⟩ as ⟨ɯ̽͡β̞⟩ (simultaneous [ɯ̽] and labial compression) or ⟨ɯ̽ᵝ⟩ ([ɯ̽] modified with labial compression). The spread-lip diacritic ⟨ ͍⟩ may also be used with a rounded vowel letter ⟨ʊ͍⟩ as an ad hoc symbol, though technically 'spread' means unrounded.
Only the Shanghainese dialect is known to contrast this with the more typical protruded (endolabial) near-close back vowel, although the height of both of these vowels varies from close to close-mid.
The fully back variant of the near-close compressed vowel can be transcribed ⟨ɯ̞͡β̞⟩, ⟨ɯ̞ᵝ⟩ or ⟨u͍˕⟩.

### Features

* Its vowel height is near-close, also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as a close vowel (high vowel).
* Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
* Its roundedness is compressed, which means that the margins of the lips are tense and drawn together in such a way that the inner surfaces are not exposed. The prototypical [ʊ] has a weak rounding (though it is protruded, rather than compressed), more like [ɔ] than the neighboring cardinal vowels.

### Occurrence

| Language | Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes |
| Chinese | Shanghainese | 都 | [tɯ̽ᵝ¹] | 'capital' | The height varies between close and close-mid; contrasts with a close to close-mid back protruded vowel. |
| Norwegian | Norwegian | ond | [ɯ̞ᵝnː] | 'evil' | Backness varies among dialects; it is a back vowel [ɯ̞ᵝ] in Urban East Norwegian, whereas in Stavangersk it is near-back [ɯ̽ᵝ]. The UEN vowel has also been described as close back [ɯᵝ]. See Norwegian phonology |
| Swedish | Central Standard | ort | | 'locality' | The quality has been variously described as near-close near-back [ɯ̽ᵝ], near-close back [ɯ̞ᵝ] and close back [ɯᵝ]. See Swedish phonology |