In this lesson you will learn everything you need to know about pronouncing the /ʊ/, UU as in WOOD vowel sound in American English.
Here’s what we will cover:
1) Exactly how to move the mouth to make this sound
2) Minimal pair listening practice to help you
differentiate the /ʊ/, UU as in WOOD vowel from the /u/, U as in BLUE
3) Imitation of this sound in words and sentences
CLARITY KICKSTART STUDENTS: Minimal pairs begin at 2:50 and end at 6:12
Practice words and sentences used in this lesson:
Could
I wish I could.
This could work.
Book
I love this book.
Did you book it?
Full
The course is full.
It was a really full day.
Woman
She’s an amazing woman.
What a woman!
Took
That took too long.
He took it well.
Sugar
It has a lot of sugar.
I’m trying to eat less sugar.
Continue your practice with this list of
50 Super Common UU, /ʊ/ as in WOOD Words
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |
would | could | look | good | should |
put | book | foot | pull | full |
push | bush | wolf | wood | took |
stood | hook | cook | bull | hood |
crook | wool | shook | brook | nook |
bookcase | jury | sugar | woman | football |
cookbook | goodness | fury | cookie | wooden |
during | cushion | bullet | butcher | pudding |
understood | bulletin | overlook | booklet | bully |
footage | fully | withstood | woolen | crooked |
Grab the PDF of this practice list here:
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English Phonemes, Spellings, Example Words, and Sound Analogies
Borrowed freely from Open Court materials and AU lesson designs
Phoneme | Spelling(s) and Example Words | Sound Analogies |
/A/ | a (table), a_e (bake), ai (train), ay (say) | Long A; Fonzie’s greeting |
/a/ | a (flat) | Crying baby; baby lamb; home alone |
/b/ | b (ball) | Beating heart; drum; basketball |
/k/ | c (cake), k (key), ck (back) | Nutcracker; golf shot; camera, chopping with an ax; walking on gravel; breaking a stick |
/d/ | d (door) | Knocking; dribbling ball; drum; dinosaur |
/E/ | e (me), ee (feet), ea (leap), y (baby) | Long E; shriek |
/e/ | e (pet), ea (head) | Rocking chair; creaky door; hard of hearing; clearing my throat |
/f/ | f (fix), ph (phone) | Angry cat; clothes brush; electric fan; soda fizz; sweeping the floor; spray bottle |
/g/ | g (gas) | Croaking frog, gulping soda |
/h/ | h (hot) | Out of breath; warm breath; tired dog |
/I/ | i (I), i_e (bite), igh (light), y (sky) | Long I; “Aye, aye, Captain” |
/i/ | i (sit) | Crying puppy; icky sticky; baby pig |
/j/ | j (jet), dge (edge), g[e, i, y] (gem) | Scrub brush; wood rasp; jump rope |
/l/ | l (lamp) | Flying saucer; mixer; lapping water |
/m/ | m (my) | Mm-m-m; hummingbird |
/n/ | n (no), kn (knock) | Mosquito; motorboat |
/O/ | o (okay), o_e (bone), oa (soap), ow (low) | Long O; Oh, I see |
/o/ | o (hot) | Say ah; doctor sound; cool drink; yawn |
/p/ | p (pie) | Popcorn; water drip; skipping stone; soap bubbles |
/kw/ | qu (quick) | Coffee pot; typewriter; quacking duck |
/r/ | r (road), wr (wrong) | Chainsaw; angry lion; robot; growling dog |
/s/ | s (say), c[e, i, y] (cent) | Snake; leaky ball; hair spray; sizzling bacon |
/t/ | t (time) | Ticking clock; timer; automatic sprinkler |
/U/ | u (future), u_e (use), ew (few) | Long U |
/u/ | u (thumb), a (about), e (loaded), o (wagon) | I dunno; mother bear; punch in the stomach; foghorn |
/v/ | v (voice) | Electric shaver; airplane; vacuum |
/w/ | w (wash) | Lariat; fly rod; washing machine; helicopter |
/ks/ or /gz/ | x (box, exam) | Pop top soda can; grease gun |
/y/ | y (yes) | Sticky mess |
/z/ | z (zoo), s (nose) | Buzzing bee; arc welder; zipper |
/OO/ | oo (boot), u (truth), u_e (rude), ew (chew) | Ghost; howling wolf; owl |
/oo/ | oo (book), u (put) | Lifting weights; chin-up bar |
/oi/ | oi (soil), oy (toy) | Seal; squeaky gate; spring |
/ou/ | ou (out), ow (cow) | Inoculation; sting; pinch |
/aw/ | aw (saw), au (caught), a[l] (tall) | Poor thing; crow |
/ar/ | ar (car) | Spinning tire; grinding gears; gargle; pirate |
/sh/ | sh (ship), ti (nation), ci (special) | Be quiet; watering the lawn; rain |
/hw/ | wh (white) | Blow out the candle |
/ch/ | ch (chest), tch (catch) | Old train; antique car; chipmunk |
/th/ or /th/ | th (thick, this) | Peeling tape; angry goose; wet shoes |
/ng/ | ng (sing), n (think) | Gong; string bass |
/zh/ | s (measure) | Sawing wood; sander |
/er/ | er (her), ir (sir), ur (fur) | Chainsaw; angry lion; robot; growling dog |
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Last modified: June 10, 2022