/ʊ/ — the BOOK vowel
as in book, put, good
About this sound
This is one of the rarest vowels in English — only about 80 words use it.
Don't confuse /ʊ/ with /u/ (the
MOON vowel). Compare:
book (short) vs
moon (long),
pull vs
pool,
full vs
fool.
Main spellings (~95%)
⟨oo⟩ ~65%
⟨u⟩ ~30%
Unusual spellings (~5%)
⟨ou⟩
The silent ⟨l⟩ is a clue — these three are the only common words.
⟨o⟩
/ʊ/ vs /u/
Don't confuse /ʊ/ with /u/! /ʊ/ is short and relaxed, /u/ is long and tense. Compare: book vs moon, pull vs pool, full vs fool.