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Vowel

Short OO / Book Vowel

The high-mid back rounded lax vowel sound heard in words like "book", "put", "could", and "foot". Often called the BOOK vowel.

oo
Phonetic System (Merriam-Webster):oo

Watch the Sound

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Example Words

Main Example

book
Phonetic: bʊk

Common Words

bookbʊk
putpʊt
couldkʊd
footfʊt
goodgʊd
looklʊk
pullpʊl
fullfʊl
shouldʃʊd
womanˈwʊmən

Minimal Pairs

Listen and compare similar sounds

oo
pull
pʊl
Compare with
P
pool
pul
oo
look
lʊk
Compare with
L
Luke
luk
oo
full
fʊl
Compare with
F
fool
ful
oo
foot
fʊt
Compare with
F
food
fud

Tongue Twister

Could the cook look at the good cookbook?

Try it yourself

Practice saying this tongue twister

Technical Details

  • CategoryVowel
  • VoicingVoiced
  • Place of ArticulationNear-Back (Near-High)
  • Manner of ArticulationVowel (Near-Close)
  • Mouth PositionLips are loosely rounded (less than for Long OO /u/). Tongue is high and towards the back, but lower and more relaxed than for /u/. Jaw is relatively closed, but slightly more open than for /u/.