# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/21 "2021-02-19T02:11:51Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > cucumber … [has] the y kyoo-kyoom-ber? ---
**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 19, 2021, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/22 "2021-02-19T02:55:46Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > 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. Acutally I think that’s not quite right. The original English long and short _U_ would have been [u:] and [u] as in _sunu_ (son) and _sunne_ (sun). I don’t know when the [ʊ] (foot) vowel entered English. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/23 "2021-02-19T05:17:09Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > letter. For example, debut, cute, refute, mute, and repute have the “y” sound, while jute, lute, and astute do not. And then you run into accents. For me, debut sounds differently from all the other examples, which all sound alike. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/24 "2021-02-19T05:29:25Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > cute, mute, jute, lute, These all rime to me. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/25 "2021-02-19T05:35:53Z")
Of course – they all end in “oot”. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/26 "2021-02-19T05:37:24Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Underwear. > [@DemonTree](#): > > Bun, cup, fuss, hunny, much, pull - no ‘y’ sound. Which are all the “short u” sound, and are therefore irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/27 "2021-02-19T05:39:56Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > > > cute, mute, jute, lute, > > These all rime to me. They’re covered in ice? ---
**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 19, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/28 "2021-02-19T14:58:27Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Bun, cup, fuss, hunny, much, pull - no ‘y’ sound. See the first sentence of the OP. > [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > kyoo-kyoom-ber? Ditto. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > And then you run into accents. For me, debut sounds differently from all the other examples, which all sound alike. It’s different to me as well but only in that the “t” is silent. The “u” is the same. How do you pronounce it? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/29 "2021-02-19T15:09:53Z")
It’s got a much longer sound to me. All the other examples you gave in your OP have the same sound, shorter. ---
**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, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/30 "2021-02-19T15:20:47Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > See the first sentence of the OP. That’ll teach me to post at 2 in the morning. The Wikipedia article I linked should answer at least your first question, though. For me duke, nuke, tube do have the ‘y’ sound; it depends on your dialect. ---
**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, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/31 "2021-02-19T15:36:40Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > For me duke, nuke, tube do have the ‘y’ sound; it depends on your dialect. Also ‘due’. I was sooooo confused at first when I saw Americans on the internet mixing up due and do. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/32 "2021-02-19T15:42:51Z")
Similarly, for me “Stewart” and “Stuart” are pronounced differently. When I say “Stewart”, my lips are narrowed. For “Stuart”, my lips are more puckered. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/33 "2021-02-19T15:44:40Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Why is “u” sometimes pronounced “yu” and sometimes “u”? Preceding-letter dependent? > When pronounced as oo, that is. The better question is “why is [insert word] spelled this way?”. The pronunciation of a word precedes its spelling. English orthography is extremely conservative. Spellings often fossilize a pronunciation at some particular point in time. This is why in spelling bees, the contestants may ask for word origin. For example, “beauty” is spelled that way because the French spelled it with a “eau” when we took the word from them. Linguists can often deduce how French (or a specific dialect of French) pronounced a word by noting when and where English took the word and how it was spelled and pronounced by the English. Sometimes we stole the same word multiple times: compare “captain”, “chief”, “chef” which captures its evolution. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/34 "2021-02-19T15:57:33Z")
To understand vowel use in english, just consult the following podcast episodes from [The History of English](https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/) [https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2020/09/24/episode-141-the-great-vowel-shift-part-1/](https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2020/09/24/episode-141-the-great-vowel-shift-part-1/) [https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2020/10/22/episode-142-the-great-vowel-shift-part-2/](https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2020/10/22/episode-142-the-great-vowel-shift-part-2/) [https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2020/11/24/episode-143-the-great-vowel-shift-part-3/](https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2020/11/24/episode-143-the-great-vowel-shift-part-3/) [https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2020/12/17/bonus-episode-chaucers-purse-and-the-great-vowel-shift/](https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2020/12/17/bonus-episode-chaucers-purse-and-the-great-vowel-shift/) It’s not necessary to listen to the earlier 140 episodes, but it is helpful. Damn, I love that podcast. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/35 "2021-02-19T16:00:51Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Linguists can often deduce how French (or a specific dialect of French) pronounced a word by noting when and where English took the word and how it was spelled and pronounced by the English. Sometimes we stole the same word multiple times: compare “captain”, “chief”, “chef” which captures its evolution. Yes, I actually just listened to an episode of the wonderful History of English podcast that discussed some of this. I believe the other example given was castle/chateau. It had the “hard c” in Norman French, which came into English after 1066 and the “sh” sound in Old French (around Paris) which came into English much later. Also related to “captain/chief/chef” is “chapel” - related to a head covering of a particular saint I believe. Oh, and now I see Qadgop beat me to the podcast recommendation! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/36 "2021-02-19T16:16:01Z")
are you trying to be funny? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/37 "2021-02-19T18:23:18Z")
Not just trying - it was funny! 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/38 "2021-02-19T18:27:27Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Damn, I love that podcast. **Me too** I have pointed out elsewhere that there are two words spelled unionized, one with the y sound and one without. They are also hyphenated differently: union-ized, un-ion-ized. Also lots of these words are pronounced differently in different dialects. My MIL who grew up in Loiusville, said tyube where I say toob. She also said nyooz where I say nooz (for news). ---
**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, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/39 "2021-02-19T20:43:29Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > My MIL who grew up in Loiusville, said tyube where I say toob. I say choob. Also due sounds like Jew. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255/40 "2021-02-19T20:48:09Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > 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. And presumably she replied, “No, I don’t share your surname. Why do you ask?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-u-sometimes-pronounced-yu-and-sometimes-u-preceding-letter-dependent/933255.md?page=3)