Close back rounded vowel

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See also: IPA, Consonants
Edit - 2× Front Near-front Central Near-back Back
Close
i • y
ɨ • ʉ
ɯ • u
ɪ • ʏ
• ʊ
e • ø
ɘ • ɵ
ɤ • o
ə
ɛ • œ
ɜ • ɞ
ʌ • ɔ
æ
ɐ
a • ɶ
ɑ • ɒ
Near‑close
Close‑mid
Mid
Open‑mid
Near‑open
Open
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right
represents a rounded vowel.
IPA – number 308
IPA – text u
IPA – image {{{imagesize}}}
Entity u
X-SAMPA u
Kirshenbaum u
Sound sample (help·info)


The close back rounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is u, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is u.

There is also a close back compressed vowel which contrasts with both the rounded and unrounded close back vowels.

[edit] Features

  • Its vowel height is close, which means the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its vowel roundedness is rounded, which means that the lips are rounded and protrude, and the inner surfaces are exposed.

[edit] Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Croatian u [u] 'in'
Dutch voet [vut] 'foot' See Dutch phonology
English (RP and GA) boot [bu̟ːt] 'boot' Typically more front than cardinal [u]. See English phonology
Faroese ur [uːr] '(wrist-)watch'
French fou [fu] 'crazy' See French phonology
German Fuß [fuːs] 'foot' See German phonology
Greek γουρούνι [ɣuˈruni] 'pig' See Modern Greek phonology
Irish gasúr [ˈgasˠuːɾˠ] 'boy' See Irish phonology
Italian tutta [ˈtutta] 'all' (fem.) See Italian phonology
Norwegian mot [muːt] 'courage' See Norwegian phonology
Polish lód [lut] 'ice' See Polish phonology
Portuguese urso [ˈuɾsu] 'bear' See Portuguese phonology
Romanian unu [ˈunu] 'one' See Romanian phonology
Russian узкий [ˈuskʲɪj] 'narrow' See Russian phonology
Scottish Gaelic gu [gu] 'to'
Serbian жут /žut [ʒut] 'yellow'
Spanish curable [kuˈɾable] 'curable' See Spanish phonology
Turkish uçak [utʃak] 'airplane'
Swedish bot [buːt] (help·info) 'penance' See Swedish phonology
Vietnamese tu [tū] 'to mediate' See Vietnamese phonology
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