Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 23, 2026

Close back rounded vowel

The close back rounded vowel, or high back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨u⟩.

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Close back rounded vowel
u
IPA number308
Audio sample
Encoding
Entity (decimal)u
Unicode (hex)U+0075
X-SAMPAu
Braille⠥ (braille pattern dots-136)
IPA: Vowels
Front Central Back
Close
•
•
•
Near-close
•
•
Close-mid
•
•
•
Mid
•
•
Open-mid
•
•
•
Near-open
•
Open
•
•
•

Legend: unrounded • rounded

The close back rounded vowel, or high back rounded vowel,1 is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨u⟩.

In most languages, this rounded vowel is pronounced with protruded lips ('endolabial'). However, in a few cases the lips are compressed ('exolabial').

[u] alternates with labio-velar approximant [w] in certain languages, such as French, and in the diphthongs of some languages, [u̯] with the non-syllabic diacritic and [w] are used in different transcription systems to represent the same sound.

Close back protruded vowel

The close back protruded vowel is the most common variant of the close back rounded vowel. It is typically transcribed in IPA simply as ⟨u⟩ (the convention used in this article). As there is no dedicated IPA diacritic for protrusion, the symbol for the close back rounded vowel with an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨  ̫⟩, can be used as an ad hoc symbol ⟨u̫⟩. Another possible transcription is ⟨uʷ⟩ or ⟨ɯʷ⟩ (a close back vowel modified by endolabialization), but that could be misread as a diphthong.

Features

  • Its vowel height is close, also known as high, which means the tongue is positioned close 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 back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
  • Its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed.
Sagittal section of a vocal tract pronouncing ⟨u⟩. Note that a wavy glottis in this diagram indicates a voiced sound. source ↗

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Afrikaans Standard2 boek [bu̜k] 'book' Only weakly rounded.3 See Afrikaans phonology
Arabic Standard4 جنوب / ǧanuub [d͡ʒaˈnuːb] 'south' See Arabic phonology
Armenian Eastern5 դուռ / dur [dur] 'door'
Bengali তবু [t̪obu] 'still' See Bengali phonology
Bavarian Amstetten dialect6 und [und̥] 'and' Contrasts close [u], near-close [o̝], close-mid [o] and open-mid [ɔ] back rounded vowels in addition to the open central unrounded [ä].6
Bulgarian7 луд / lud [ɫut̪] 'crazy' See Bulgarian phonology
Catalan8 suc [s̺uk] 'juice' See Catalan phonology
Chinese Mandarin910 土 / tǔ [tʰu˨˩˦] 'earth' See Standard Chinese phonology
Cantonese11 夫 / fū [fuː˥]ⓘ 'man' See Cantonese phonology
Shanghainese12 瓜 / ku [ku˩] 'melon' Height varies between close and close-mid; contrasts with a close to close-mid back compressed vowel.12
Chuvash урам [uˈram] 'street'
Danish Standard1314 du [tu] 'you' See Danish phonology
Dutch Standard1516 voet [vut]ⓘ 'foot' Somewhat fronted in Belgian Standard Dutch.16
English Australian1718 book [buk] 'book' Corresponds to [ʊ] in other accents. See Australian English phonology
Cape Flats19 May be advanced to [ʉ], or lowered and unrounded to [ɤ].19 See South African English phonology
Cultivated South African20 boot [bu̟ut] 'boot' Typically more front [ʉu] than cardinal [uw]. See White South African English phonology and American English phonology.
General American21
Geordie22 May be central [ʉː] instead.
Irish23 Realized as central [ʉː] in Ulster.
Some Multicultural London speakers24 More commonly front [yː].
Conservative Received Pronunciation25 Realized as central [ʉ] in modern RP.
Welsh262728
Pakistani29 [buːʈ]
Greater New York City30 [buːt]31
New Zealand3233 treacle [ˈtɹ̝̊iːku] 'treacle' Possible realization of the unstressed vowel /ɯ/, which is variable in rounding and ranges from central to (more often) back and close to close-mid.3233 Corresponds to /əl/ in other accents. See New Zealand English phonology
Estonian34 sule [ˈsule̞] 'feather' (gen. sg.) See Estonian phonology
Finnish3536 kukka [ˈkukːɑ] 'flower' See Finnish phonology
Faroese37 gulur [ˈkuːlʊɹ] 'yellow' See Faroese phonology
French3839 où [u]ⓘ 'where' See French phonology
Georgian40 გუდა / guda [ɡudɑ] 'leather bag'
German Standard4142 Fuß [fuːs]ⓘ 'foot' See Standard German phonology
Many speakers43 Stunde [ˈʃtundə] 'hour' The usual realization of /ʊ/ in Switzerland, Austria and partially also in Western and Southwestern Germany (Palatinate, Swabia).43 See Standard German phonology
Greek Modern Standard4445 που / pou [pu] 'where' See Modern Greek phonology
Hindustani Hindi ख़ून(khoon) [xuːn] 'blood' See Hindustani phonology.
Urdu خون(khoon)
Hungarian46 út [uːt̪] 'way' See Hungarian phonology
Icelandic4748 þú [θ̠u] 'you' See Icelandic phonology
Indonesian49 Standard unta [unta] 'camel' See Indonesian phonology
Italian50 tutto [ˈt̪ut̪t̪o] 'all', 'everything' See Italian phonology
Kaingang51 [ˈndukːi] 'in the belly'
Kazakh туған / tuğan [t̪ʰuˈʁɑ̝̃n̪] 'native' Transcribed phonemically as ⟨ʊw⟩.
Khmer ភូមិ / phumĭ [pʰuːm] 'village' See Khmer phonology
Korean 눈 / nun [nuːn] 'snow' See Korean phonology
Kurdish525354 Kurmanji (Northern) çû [tʃʰuː] 'wood' See Kurdish phonology
Sorani (Central) چوو / çû
Palewani (Southern)
Latin Classical55 sus [suːs] 'pig'
Limburgish5657 sjoen [ʃu̟n] 'beautiful' Back57 or near-back,56 depending on the dialect. The example word is from the Maastrichtian dialect.
Lower Sorbian58 zub [z̪up] 'tooth'
Luxembourgish59 Luucht [luːχt] 'air' See Luxembourgish phonology
Malay ubat [u.bät] 'medicine' See Malay phonology
Malayalam ഉപ്പ് upːɨ̆ 'salt' See Malayalam phonology
Mongolian60 үүр / üür [uːɾɘ̆] 'nest'
Mpade61 kusumu [kusumu] 'mouse'
Nogai сув [suː] 'water'
Persian دور / dur [duɾ] 'far' See Persian phonology
Polish62 buk [buk]ⓘ 'beech tree' Also represented orthographically by ⟨ó⟩. See Polish phonology
Portuguese63 tu [ˈtu] 'you' See Portuguese phonology
Romanian64 unu [ˈun̪u] 'one' See Romanian phonology
Russian65 узкий / uzkiy / uzkij [ˈus̪kʲɪj]ⓘ 'narrow' See Russian phonology
Scottish Gaelic ùbhlan [ˈuːl̪ˠən] 'apples' Normal realisation of /uː/ in most dialects. In Lewis and Wester Ross as an allophone in proximity to broad sonorants; /uː/ elsewhere fronted to [ʉː] or [yː].6667
Serbo-Croatian68 дуга / duga [d̪ǔːɡä] 'rainbow' See Serbo-Croatian phonology
Shiwiar69
Spanish70 curable [kuˈɾäβ̞le̞] 'curable' See Spanish phonology
Sotho71 tumo [tʼumɔ] 'fame' Contrasts close, near-close and close-mid back rounded vowels.71 See Sotho phonology
Swahili ubongo [ubongo] 'brain'
Tagalog utang [ˈʔutɐŋ] 'debt'
Thai Standard72 ชลบุรี / chonburi [tɕ͡ʰōn.bū.rīː]ⓘ 'Chonburi'
Turkish7374 uzak [uˈz̪äk] 'far' See Turkish phonology
Udmurt75 урэтэ / urėtė [urete] 'to divide'
Ukrainian76 рух / rukh [rux] 'motion' See Ukrainian phonology
Upper Sorbian5877 žuk [ʒuk] 'beetle'
Urdu دُور / dur [d̪uːɾ] 'far' See Urdu phonology
Welsh mwg [muːɡ] 'smoke' See Welsh phonology
West Frisian jûn [juːn] 'evening, tonight' See West Frisian phonology
Yoruba78 itọju [itɔju]
Zapotec Tilquiapan79 gdu [ɡdu] 'all'

Close back compressed vowel

Close back compressed vowel
u᫦
ɯᵝ

Some languages, such as Japanese and Swedish, have a close back vowel that has a distinct type of rounding, called compressed or exolabial.80 Only Shanghainese is known to contrast it with the more typical protruded (endolabial) close back vowel, but the height of both vowels varies from close to close-mid.12

Compression of the lips can be shown with the letter ⟨β̞⟩ as ⟨ɯ͡β̞⟩ (simultaneous [ɯ] and labial compression) or ⟨ɯᵝ⟩ ([ɯ] modified with labial compression), though that can suggest that the vowel is a diphthong (as indeed it is in Swedish).

Features

  • Its vowel height is close, also known as high, which means the tongue is positioned close 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 back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
  • Its roundedness is compressed, which means that the margins of the lips are tense and drawn together in such a way that the inner surfaces are not exposed.

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Chinese Shanghainese12 都/tub [tɯᵝ˩] 'capital' Height varies between close and close-mid; contrasts with a close to close-mid back protruded vowel.12
Japanese81 空気 / kūki [kɯ̟ᵝːki]ⓘ 'air' Near-back; may be realized as central [ɨᵝ] by younger speakers.81 See Japanese phonology
Lizu82 [mɯ̟ᵝ˥˧] 'feather' Near-back; following bilabial and alveolar stops, it is realized as a syllabic trill [ʙ̩].82
Norwegian8384 mot [mɯᵝːt] 'courage' The example word is from Urban East Norwegian, in which the vowel can be diphthongized to [ɯᵝə̯].85 See Norwegian phonology
Swedish Central Standard8687 oro [ɯᵝːrɯᵝː]ⓘ 'unease' Often realized as a sequence [ɯᵝβ̞] or [ɯᵝβ].86 See Swedish phonology
See also

See also

Citations

Citations

  1. While the International Phonetic Association prefers the terms "close" and "open" for vowel height, many linguists use "high" and "low".
  2. Donaldson (1993), pp. 2, 5.
  3. Donaldson (1993), p. 5.
  4. Thelwall & Sa'Adeddin (1990), p. 38.
  5. Dum-Tragut (2009), p. 13.
  6. Traunmüller (1982), cited in Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:290)
  7. Ternes & Vladimirova-Buhtz (1999), p. 56.
  8. Carbonell & Llisterri (1992), p. 54.
  9. Lee & Zee (2003), pp. 110–111.
  10. Duanmu (2007), pp. 35–36.
  11. Zee (1999), pp. 59–60.
  12. Chen & Gussenhoven (2015), pp. 328–329.
  13. Grønnum (1998), p. 100.
  14. Basbøll (2005), p. 46.
  15. Gussenhoven (1992), p. 47.
  16. Verhoeven (2005), p. 245.
  17. Cox & Palethorpe (2007), p. 344.
  18. Cox & Fletcher (2017), p. 65.
  19. Finn (2004), p. 970.
  20. Lass (2002), p. 116.
  21. Mannell, Cox & Harrington (2009).
  22. Watt & Allen (2003), p. 268.
  23. Hickey, Raymond (2004). Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider (ed.). A Handbook of Varieties of English Volume 1: Phonology. De Gruyter. p. 91.
  24. Cruttenden (2014), p. 91.
  25. Roach (2004), p. 242.
  26. Collins & Mees (1990), p. 95.
  27. Connolly (1990), p. 125.
  28. Tench (1990), p. 135.
  29. Mahboob & Ahmar (2004), p. 1007.
  30. Hickey, Raymond (2004). Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider (ed.). A Handbook of Varieties of English Volume 1: Phonology. De Gruyter. p. 287.
  31. Labov, William; Ash, Sharon; Boberg, Charles (2006). The Atlas of North American English. chpt. 17
  32. "NZE Phonology" (PDF). Victoria University of Wellington. p. 3.
  33. Bauer & Warren (2004), p. 585.
  34. Asu & Teras (2009), p. 368.
  35. Iivonen & Harnud (2005), pp. 60, 66.
  36. Suomi, Toivanen & Ylitalo (2008), p. 21.
  37. Árnason (2011), pp. 68, 74.
  38. Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.
  39. Collins & Mees (2013), p. 225.
  40. Shosted & Chikovani (2006), pp. 261–262.
  41. Hall (2003), pp. 87, 107.
  42. Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015), p. 34.
  43. Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015), p. 64.
  44. Arvaniti (2007), p. 28.
  45. Trudgill (2009), p. 81.
  46. Szende (1994), p. 92.
  47. Árnason (2011), p. 60.
  48. Einarsson (1945:10), cited in Gussmann (2011:73)
  49. "Indonesian Alphabet and Pronunciation". mylanguages.org. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  50. Rogers & d'Arcangeli (2004), p. 119.
  51. Jolkesky (2009), pp. 676–677, 682.
  52. Thackston (2006a), p. 1.
  53. Khan & Lescot (1970), pp. 8–16.
  54. Fattah describes the sound as being voyelle longue centrale arrondie (p. 116).
  55. Wheelock's Latin (1956).
  56. Gussenhoven & Aarts (1999), p. 159.
  57. Peters (2006), p. 119.
  58. Stone (2002), p. 600.
  59. Gilles & Trouvain (2013), p. 70.
  60. Iivonen & Harnud (2005), pp. 62, 66–67.
  61. Allison (2006).
  62. Jassem (2003), p. 105.
  63. Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
  64. Sarlin (2014), p. 18.
  65. Jones & Ward (1969), p. 67.
  66. "Aspiration". Scottish Gaelic Dialect Survey. Archived from the original on 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  67. Oftedal (1956), p. 75–76.
  68. Landau et al. (1999), p. 67.
  69. Fast Mowitz (1975), p. 2.
  70. Martínez-Celdrán, Fernández-Planas & Carrera-Sabaté (2003), p. 256.
  71. Doke & Mofokeng (1974), p. ?.
  72. Tingsabadh & Abramson (1993), p. 24.
  73. Zimmer & Orgun (1999), p. 155.
  74. Göksel & Kerslake (2005), p. 11.
  75. Iivonen & Harnud (2005), pp. 64, 68.
  76. Danyenko & Vakulenko (1995), p. 4.
  77. Šewc-Schuster (1984), p. 20.
  78. Bamgboṣe (1966), p. 166.
  79. Merrill (2008), p. 109.
  80. Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), p. 295.
  81. Okada (1999), p. 118.
  82. Chirkova & Chen (2013), p. 78.
  83. Vanvik (1979), pp. 13, 17.
  84. While Vanvik (1979) does not describe the exact type of rounding of this vowel, some other sources (e.g. Haugen (1974:40) and Kristoffersen (2000:16)) state explicitly that it is compressed.
  85. Vanvik (1979), p. 17.
  86. Engstrand (1999), p. 140.
  87. Rosenqvist (2007), p. 9.
References

References

External links