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Pronunciation · vowel

The /ʊ/ sound — oo as in book

In short

/ʊ/ is a short near-close back rounded vowel — the vowel you hear in book, put, good. Like every diphthong, the glide between two positions IS the sound. Below: exactly how to position your mouth, audio you can copy, the mistakes learners actually make, and drills to fix them.

How to pronounce /ʊ/

  1. 1Round your lips loosely — much less than for /uː/.
  2. 2Keep your tongue high and back but relaxed.
  3. 3Make it short and soft: book, put, good.

Sounds like: a short, relaxed 'oo' — the sound in 'good'

/ʊ/ in words — with audio

Listen, then copy. The slow (turtle) version exaggerates the mouth movement.

  • book/bʊk/ · sound is medial
  • put/pʊt/ · sound is medial
  • good/ɡʊd/ · sound is medial
  • could/kʊd/ · sound is medial
  • woman/ˈwʊmən/ · sound is medial
  • full/fʊl/ · sound is medial

The mistake almost everyone makes

Using a long tense /uː/ so 'full' sounds like 'fool' and 'pull' like 'pool'. /ʊ/ is short, lazy and relaxed.

Spellings of /ʊ/

These letter patterns commonly spell /ʊ/: oo u oul o. English spelling is unreliable — trust the IPA, not the letters.

Don't confuse it with…

Minimal pairs isolate the exact contrast — the fastest way to train both your ear and your mouth.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce the /ʊ/ sound?
Round your lips loosely — much less than for /uː/. Keep your tongue high and back but relaxed. Make it short and soft: book, put, good.
What is the most common mistake with /ʊ/?
Using a long tense /uː/ so 'full' sounds like 'fool' and 'pull' like 'pool'. /ʊ/ is short, lazy and relaxed.
Which spellings make the /ʊ/ sound?
Common spellings include “oo”, “u”, “oul”, “o” — as in book /bʊk/, put /pʊt/, good /ɡʊd/.
Does /ʊ/ matter for IELTS?
Yes — this is a high-priority sound. Errors here frequently change one word into another, which examiners hear as reduced clarity (the exact Band 6 wording is “mispronunciation … reduces clarity at times”).

Next step

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