Decoding the letter U

The **letter U** (lowercase **u**, pronounced **/juː/**), as most vowel letters in English, had initially four main pronunciations; however in Received Pronunciation they are currently eight and in General American there are seven.

* So-called “short u”, IPA phoneme /ʌ/, as in *strut, run, running* or *hurry**BrE*
* So-called “long u”, with two possibilities

IPA phonetic sequence /juː/, as in *cute, student, assume,* or *assuming*
IPA phoneme /uː/, as in *rule, ruling, conclusion* or *flu*
* Long "ur" monophthong (short vowel spelling), IPA phoneme /ɜː/, as in *nurse, fur, furry* or *hurry**AmE*
* Long vowel "ur" spelling, with two possibilities and several sounds

With /j/
Traditional pronunciation, as in *cure, curious* or *fury:* IPA phonetic sequences /jʊə/*BrE* or /jʊ/*AmE*
Newer pronunciations: IPA sequences /jɔː/*BrE* *(cure)* or /jɜː/*AmE* *(cure, curious)*
Without /j/
Traditional pronunciation, as in *sure, tourist:* IPA phoneme /ʊə/*BrE* or /ʊ/*AmE*
Newer pronunciation IPA phoneme /ɔː/*BrE* *(sure, tourist)* or /ɜː/*AmE* *(sure)*
U also can be pronounced /ʊ/ as in *full* and /w/ as in *quit*, plus other, less common pronunciations, sometimes in combination with other letters, and, of course, it can be used as schwa. There are some helpful rules (to be taken with the habitual pinch of salt).

It is also very much one of those cases in which teachers, whichever their preferences might be, need to point out the differences between RP (**/juː/**) and American (**/uː/**) pronunciations regarding, particularly with words like *due* or *nude*. This is also explained at "Yod dropping"" in the IPA phonetic sequence /juː/ article.

## As /juː/ or /uː/

*See main articles IPA phoneme /uː/ and IPA phonetic sequence /juː/.*

The letter U can represent the sounds /juː/ or /uː/ depending on the previous consonant.

### Always /juː/

Initially and after /b, f, g, h, k, m, p/ and /v/ the letter U sounds /juː/

* Initially /juː/: unit - unite - university

Exception

as /uː/: recuperate
### Depending on the accent

After /d, n, s, t, θ/ and /z/ U sounds /juː/ in Received Pronunciation and /uː/ in General American

**IPA consonants**

Exceptions

Always /juː/: annual - manual - menu
### Always /uː/

After /dʒ, l, r, ʃ/ and /tʃ/ U represents /uː/.

Exceptions:

/juː/: volume
## As /ʊ/

*See main article* IPA phoneme /ʊ/.

* "u" + final consonant: put;
* "u" + two consonants: bull - bullet - bush - cushion - full - pull - push

## As /ʌ/

*See main article IPA phoneme /ʌ/.*

* "u" + final consonants: bun - but - cup - discuss - fun - just - lunch - much - run - sun - up
* "u" + double consonant: butter - funny - runny - suffer - summer - sunny - tummy
* "u" + two consonants: hungry - judge - number - public - trumpet - uncle - under
* "u" + single consonant: study

* The prefix "un": unable - unemployed - uninvited - unusual

## As /w/

*See main article IPA phoneme /w/.*

* with "g": anguish - bilingual - distinguish - guacamole - Guatemala - iguana - language - linguistics - Nicaragua /ˌnɪkəˈrɑːgwə,*AmE* ˌnɪkəˈræɡjʊə*BrE*/ - Paraguay - penguin - Uruguay
* with "q": acquire - consequence - equal - equipment - quality - quarter - question - quick - quickly - quiet - quite - quote - request - require - requirement
* with "s": dissuade - persuade - suite

## As schwa

*See main article Schwa.*

* as "-ure": figure  /ˈfɪɡər/,*BrE* /ˈfɪɡjər/*AmE*
* as "-ture": adventure - creature - feature - future - nature - picture - structure - temperature
* others: min**u**scule - mollusc*BrE*/mollusk*AmE* - opossum - Saturday - supply - support - virus

## Silent U

* Antigua /ænˈtiːɡə/ - buoy - guarantee - guard - guardian - guess - guest - guide - Guinea /ˈgɪnɪ/ - Guinnes /ˈgɪnɪs/ - guilty - guitar - mosquito

See also "Silent ue" and "ui as /ɪ/" below.

## Others

* As /ɪ/: business - busy - lettuce - minute *(n. 1/60 of an hour)*

## Combined with vowels

### As "ue"

* As /uː/: blue - issue - tissue - sue - true
* As /juː/: argue - continue - due - revenue - Tuesday - value

#### Silent "ue"

* antique - cheque - colleague - conquer - intrigue - league - synagogue - technique - tongue - unique

Ending in "logue":

* analogue - catalogue - dialogue - epilogue - monologue - prologue

In American English the following spellings are also used:
* analog - catalog - dialog - epilog - monolog - prolog

With magic e:

* fugue - plague - vogue

### As "ui"

*See main article Decoding exercises: "ui".*

* as **/uː/**: bruise - cruise - fruit - juice - lawsuit - suit - suitable - suitcase;
* as **/ɪ/**: biscuit - build - built - circuit;

### As /ɜː/

*See main article /ɜː/.*

* blur - burn - curb - curl - curling - curly - furniture - hurt - surgeon - Thursday - turn - urban - urgent

## Homophones

*See main article Homophone.*

* blue - blew; bury - berry; flu - flew; sun - son

## Heteronyms

*See main article Heteronym.*

* minute: *n. 1/60 of an hour* /ˈmɪnɪt/, *adj. very small* /maɪˈnjuːt/

## Anticipated pronunciation difficulties depending on L1

### Spanish

See Pronunciation exercises: /uː/ vs /ʊ/ § Spanish

## References

1. ↑ "sure", *Collins English Dictionary*

## See also

* Decoding exercises: "au"
* Decoding exercises: "eu"
* Decoding exercises: "ou"
* Decoding exercises: "ue"
* Decoding exercises: "ui"
* Decoding exercises: "ur"
* Decoding exercises: "urr"
* Decoding exercises: "urV" and "urrV"
* Decoding exercises: "uy"
* Pronunciation exercises: /ʌ/ vs /æ/
* Pronunciation exercises: /uː/ vs /ʊ/