Long and short u

/ʊ/ & /u:/

The two sounds /ʊ/ and /u:/ are often confused, despite being quite different. You might confuse them because one of the sounds might not exist in your first language, but most likely English spelling is to blame.

Firstly, the sounds can be spelled several ways. See the following examples of the spelling of /u:/:

• ue as in glue
• ew as in knew
• oo as in zoo
• u + consonant + e as in dude and flute
• Ending in o as in to, who and do

/ʊ/ can also be spelled a number of ways including:

• oo as in look
• u as in pull and put
• ou as in should

Secondly, as you can see above, some of the ways of spelling the short /ʊ/ are also used to spell the long /u:/. In addition, other sounds such as /ʌ/ are also spelled with these letter combinations, such as oo in blood which is pronounced /blʌd/.

Exercise 1: Contrasting the pair

• Look at the waveform diagram of the two sounds. Note that the /ʊ/ sound is short, while /u:/ is long.
• Click the buttons to contrast the two sounds. Focus on the sounds and length.

Production of the sounds

/ʊ/ is a short vowel. To make the vowel sound /ʊ/,

• Open your mouth a little and point your lips slightly out.
• Raise your tongue off the bottom of your mouth and move it back in your mouth.

/u:/ is a l-o-n-g vowel. To make the /u:/ sound:

• Make a round shape with your lips and point them out.
• Position your tongue high and to the back but do not touch the roof of your mouth with your tongue.

Exercise 2: Watch and repeat

• Watch the two videos which show you how to make the /ʊ/ and /u:/ sounds.
• As you listen, repeat the sounds.
• You may wish to use a mirror to focus on how you use your mouth to make each sound.
• Click the right arrow to move to the next slide to watch the next video.
• You can use the left arrow to go back at any time to watch and listen again.

Exercise 3: Listening and identifying

• Prepare by listening to the words first.
• Decide if they have an /ʊ/ or /u:/ sound.

Now complete the drag and drop activity.

• Drag the words into the correct column depending on whether they have an /ʊ/ or /u:/.
• Before deciding, you can listen to the words again as many times as you like.

Exercise 4: Listening and identifying

• Prepare by listening to the words first.
• Decide if they have an /ʊ/ or /u:/ sound.

Now complete the drag and drop activity.

• Drag the words into the correct column depending on whether they have an /ʊ/ or /u:/.
• Before deciding, you can listen to the words again as many times as you like.