# Why is "u" sometimes pronounced "yu" and sometimes "u"? Preceding-letter dependent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2021, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255 "2021-02-18T22:03:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/1 "2021-02-18T22:03:20Z")
When pronounced as oo, that is. ISTM - just based on thinking of words off the top of my head - that the difference is dependent on the preceding letter. For example, debut, cute, refute, mute, and repute have the “y” sound, while jute, lute, and astute do not. Similarly, rebuke, cucumber, puke have the y, while duke, fluke, juke, Luke, and nuke do not. Cube, hubris, and puberty have it while gubernatorial, lube, jubilee, rube, and tube do not. Supine does not. Lining it up, we have bu, cu, fu, hu, mu, pu with the y sound, and du, gu, ju, lu, nu, ru, su, and tu do not. I can’t think of exceptions to this, though perhaps I’m overlooking something. Questions are 1) is the above correct as general rules, and 2) if so, why is this? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/2 "2021-02-18T22:07:19Z")
Universe. Underwear. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/3 "2021-02-18T22:09:06Z")
Do you think it’s just an arbitrary rule about the preceding letter or maybe it has something to do with the way the preceding letter is pronounced? Just askin’. ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/4 "2021-02-18T22:13:23Z")
Do a search for 'long vs short vowels. The English language is full of little idiosyncrasies. It’s what makes it a bitch for people to learn. > **[Short and Long English Vowels](https://www.englishhints.com/english-vowels.html)** > > Improve your English reading, spelling, and pronunciation by learning these simple rules for long and short English vowels. (The silent 'E' rule helps so much!) ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/5 "2021-02-18T22:18:53Z")
Is it _kyoo-pon_ or _koo-pon_? ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/6 "2021-02-18T22:37:01Z")
A lot of words are pronounced with the “y” sound in British English that are pronounced without it in American English. From your OP, duke, tube, nuke and astute would be pronounced with the “y” sound in Britain and Ireland. So if there is a rule regarding preceding letters, it’s not universal. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/7 "2021-02-18T22:43:17Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > Is it _kyoo-pon_ or _koo-pon_ ? “Coupon” is not a plain-u word - it’s an “ou” word. So I find the idea of “_kyoo-pon_” honestly weird. Are there any other “ou” words that people try to pronounce with a “_-yoo-_”? ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/8 "2021-02-18T22:46:16Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Lining it up, we have bu, cu, fu, hu, mu, pu with the y sound, and du, gu, ju, lu, nu, ru, su, and tu do not. I can’t think of exceptions to this, though perhaps I’m overlooking something. I thought the story went that a woman remarked to George Bernard Shaw that “sugar” is the only time in the English language when “su-” had a silent h sound in it. He asked if she was sure. When I hear Brits, they add the [j] (international phonetics for the y in yawn sound, IIRC) . AE “stoopid” vs BE "styoopid’ etc. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/9 "2021-02-18T22:51:56Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Do you think it’s just an arbitrary rule about the preceding letter or maybe it has something to do with the way the preceding letter is pronounced? Just askin’. I can think of two possibilities off the top of my head, either that it’s something about the way the pronunciation works, as you suggest, or that sometimes different letter combinations are derived from different original languages (generally Latin vs Germanic, in the case of English) and that can make a difference. But perhaps it’s something else. I’m not an expert. Or perhaps it’s not true altogether. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/10 "2021-02-18T22:54:30Z")
I can’t think of any other “-ou” words prounced as “yu” (/ju:/) off the top of my head, but we do have another isolated examples with the “-eau” in “beautiful/beauty/etc,” I think. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/11 "2021-02-18T22:58:39Z")
I don’t think there are any consistent standards for ‘eau’ at all. Consider: beau beauty bureaucracy ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/12 "2021-02-18T23:07:50Z")
I would say there is. It’s the same as the French sound: “oh.” “Bureau” follows it. You’re right, it changes a bit in “bureaucracy” but to me it’s a minor change. You have “beau,” “gateau,” “plateau,” tableau," “nouveau,” “beaucoup,” “bureaucrat,” “portmanteau.” Not a common collection of letters, and very indicative of a word’s origin, but there is a pretty consistent standard. It bends a little, for some reason, at “bureaucracy” and “bureaucrat.” But it’s completely different at “beauty.” ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/13 "2021-02-18T23:13:41Z")
I guess there’s a standard for “ends with eau” (and related forms), but in the middle of the word there just aren’t enough examples. A peek at the dictionary also gives me “reauthorizes”, which is obviously a different category again ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/14 "2021-02-18T23:17:13Z")
OK, with some digging I found that, apparently, “ampoule” is pronounced with a /ju:/ by some. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/15 "2021-02-18T23:32:05Z")
The pronunciation of English vowels is an extremely complex subject. What are taught in schools today as the “long _U_” [ju] as in _cube_ and “short _U_” [ʌ] as in _cub_ are not actually related vowels. Many of the [ju] words, like _cube_, _use_, and _universe_, are actually borrowings from French and Latin. They’re not native English words. How those Latin _U_ sounds became [ju] I’m not sure about. The original long and short _U_ sounds of English would be [u] as in _fool_ and [ʊ] as in _foot_. But of course they wouldn’t have been found in those words. English vowels have changed a lot since the 15th century, unusually fast (see the ([Great Vowel Shift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift)) – [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Great\_Vowel\_Shift.svg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Great_Vowel_Shift.svg) – and in some places, like Chicago and Detroit, they are changing again very fast (see the [Northern Cities Vowel Shift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inland_Northern_American_English#Northern_Cities_Vowel_Shift)). ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/16 "2021-02-19T00:05:10Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Are there any other “ou” words that people try to pronounce with a “ _-yoo-_ ”? Houston. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/17 "2021-02-19T00:06:30Z")
You mean like the street in New York? 😉 (Good find. I knew there had to be another one.) ---
**Author:** ![EdwardFound](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@EdwardFound](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardFound)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/18 "2021-02-19T00:26:00Z")
I have another “yu” question to pile on. I was shocked - shocked! - the first time I noticed “calculate” being pronounced as cal-cuh-late instead of the right-and-proper cal-cyu-late. Since, I’ve realized it’s common: a lot of people say “uh” in words where I would say “yu”, but I can’t figure out if it’s a regional thing or just personal preference. Any insights? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/19 "2021-02-19T01:52:01Z")
I’m surprised no one has linked this yet: > **[Phonological history of English consonant clusters | Yod-dropping](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonant_clusters#Yod-dropping)** > > Yod-dropping is the elision of the /j/ from certain syllable-initial clusters of the type described above. Particular cases of yod-dropping may affect all or some of the dialects that have the relevant clusters. > The change of \[ɪ\] to \[j\] in these positions (as described above) produced some clusters which would have been difficult or impossible to pronounce, which led to what John Wells calls Early Yod Dropping in which the \[j\] was elided in the following environments: > 1.After /ʃ, tʃ, dʒ/, for e... ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/20 "2021-02-19T01:56:40Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Lining it up, we have bu, cu, fu, hu, mu, pu with the y sound, and du, gu, ju, lu, nu, ru, su, and tu do not. Bun, cup, fuss, hunny, much, pull - no ‘y’ sound. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255.md?page=2)