Lips
Round your lips loosely into a small oval, pushed slightly forward, like the soft shape in the animation. Loose is the key word. No tight circle.
Short vowels
/ʊ/as in foot
The vowel in "foot". A short "u" with loose, gentle rounding.
Example words: foot, put, good, book, look
Accent
Mouth
How do you pronounce the /ʊ/ sound?
Tongue
Back of the tongue rises loosely toward the soft palate. High and back, but relaxed, a notch lower than for long "oo".
Length
Very short. This is the lax partner of long "oo": "full" is quick and loose, "fool" is long with tight rounding.
Video lesson
Try it
- Say a long "oo" and notice how tight your lips are.
- Now loosen everything: relax the lips into a soft oval, let the tongue drop slightly.
- Say a quick, soft "uh"-like "u": short and loose.
- Try: foot, put, good.
Check
Record "full, fool, full, fool". The first should be short with barely-rounded lips, the second long with a tight circle. Mirror check: your lips should visibly relax between the two.
Common trap
Most learners replace this with a long tense "oo", so "full" becomes "fool" and "pull" becomes "pool". If your lips form a tight, effortful circle, you've switched vowels. This sound should feel almost lazy.
Practice: /ʊ/
Words
footfˈʊt
putpˌʊt
goodɡˈʊd
bookbˈʊk
looklˈʊk
Sentences
She took a good look at the book.ʃˌi tˈʊk ɐ ɡˈʊd lˈʊk æt ðə bˈʊk.
Put the sugar in the wooden box.pˌʊt ðə ʃˈʊɡəɹ ɪn ðə wˈʊdən bˈɑks.
This book looks really good to me.ðˌɪs bˈʊk lˈʊks ɹˈiəli ɡˈʊd tə mˌi.
He pushed the door open with his foot.hˌi pˈʊʃt ðə dˈɔɹ ˈoʊpən wɪð hɪz fˈʊt.
I could cook something good for lunch.ˌaɪ kʊd kˈʊk sˈʌmθˌɪŋ ɡˈʊd fɔɹ lˈʌntʃ.
Words
footfˈʊt
putpˌʊt
goodɡˈʊd
bookbˈʊk
looklˈʊk
Sentences
She took a good look at the book.ʃˌiː tˈʊk ɐ ɡˈʊd lˈʊk at ðə bˈʊk.
Put the sugar in the wooden box.pˌʊt ðə ʃˈʊɡə ɪn ðə wˈʊdən bˈɒks.
This book looks really good to me.ðˌɪs bˈʊk lˈʊks ɹˈɪəli ɡˈʊd tə mˌiː.
He pushed the door open with his foot.hˌiː pˈʊʃt ðə dˈɔː ˈəʊpən wɪð hɪz fˈʊt.
I could cook something good for lunch.ˌaɪ kʊd kˈʊk sˈʌmθɪŋ ɡˈʊd fɔː lˈʌntʃ.
🔊 plays the app's native voice. 🎤 records you so you can play it back next to it. Your recording stays in your browser.
Sounds in the same group
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