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Close back rounded vowel
u
IPA Number
308
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)
u
Unicode (hex)
U+0075
X-SAMPA
u
Braille
IPA: Vowels
Front
Central
Back
Close
i
y
ɨ
ʉ
ɯ
u
Near-close
ɪ
ʏ
ʊ
Close-mid
e
ø
ɘ
ɵ
ɤ
o
Mid
e̞
ø̞
ə
ɤ̞
o̞
Open-mid
ɛ
œ
ɜ
ɞ
ʌ
ɔ
Near-open
æ
ɐ
Open
a
ɶ
ä
ɑ
ɒ
IPA help
audio
full chart
template
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⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol 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.
^While the International Phonetic Association prefers the terms "close" and "open" for vowel height, many linguists use "high" and "low".
and 19 Related for: Close back rounded vowel information
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linear stroke on the top left and corresponds to a rounded version of this vowel, the open backroundedvowel. In some languages (such as Azerbaijani, Estonian...
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