Lesson 5 - Family
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This page: The pronunciation of the letter U in English
The letter U has two main pronunciations in English: a short pronunciation and a long pronunciation. When a vowel has a "long" sound, it is pronounced like the letter's name. Listen to the difference between the short and long sounds of the letter U with the words in the table below. Click the link to hear the pronunciation.
Note: I am from the United States and my pronunciation is North American.
| Long U sound | Short U sound |
|---|---|
| ► /u:/ | ► /^/ |
| ► tube | ► tub |
| ► boot | ► but |
| ► hoot | ► hut |
| ► dune | ► done |
| ► soon | ► sun |
| ► mood | ► mud |
| ► duke | ► duck |
| ► cube | ► cub) |
| ► cute | ► cut |
| ► Luke | ► luck |
| ► dude | ► dud |
| ► mute | ► mutt |
In the long-sounding words column, all of them end with a silent E or contain a combination of vowels. When a word ends with a silent E, the preceding vowel is pronounced as the letter's name. Similarly, if a word contains a vowel combination, the first vowel "says its name." These pronunciation rules are explained in more detail on the Pronunciation Rules page.
Click "Listen" to hear a word. Then, select the word you heard.
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