/u/as in “food”

Vowel

How to pronounce /u/ in English

The /u/ sound is a high, tense, back vowel.

High
Tense
Back
Rounded

Jaw
Open your mouth slightly.
Tongue
Tense your tongue, raise the back very high up, and pull it towards your throat.
Lips
Round your lips into a circle and make them tense.

Example words

food
blue
true
you
new
moon

Common mistakes

Pool or pull

/ʊ/ came out as /uː/: "full" sounded like "fool". Loosen your lips and keep it short.
/uː/ came out as /ʊ/: "pool" sounded like "pull". Round and push your lips forward.

How to practise

/uː/: lips tightly rounded and pushed forward, tongue tense.
/ʊ/: lips loosely rounded, jaw a little more open; short and relaxed.

Easily confused words

pool · pull
fool · full
Luke · look
who'd · hood

Practise /u/ with Letty

Say any sentence and Letty scores every sound, showing which one to fix. On iPhone, iPad and Mac, no internet needed.

Download on the App Store