⟨u⟩

⟨u⟩ is a vowel monograph used in English consisting of a single letter U.

It represents two sounds. In the ꜱᴛʀᴜᴛ lexical set, it represents a ꜱᴛʀᴜᴛ vowel. In the ꜰᴏᴏᴛ lexical set, it represents a ꜰᴏᴏᴛ vowel.

For accents without the ꜰᴏᴏᴛ–ꜱᴛʀᴜᴛ split, this distinction is not generally made, and both are pronounced with the ꜰᴏᴏᴛ vowel.

In the sight word busy and related business, it has the ᴋɪᴛ vowel. It also has ᴋɪᴛ in Welsh words, especially applicable to place names like Llandudno /ˈhlæn.dɪd.nəʊ/.

It can also represent the ɢᴏᴏꜱᴇ vowel phoneme /uː/, generally at the ends of words of foreign origin, like impromptu, tiramisu, thru (respelling of through), Timbuktu, Tuvalu, Desmond Tutu, etc. Also, Aruba, Cuba, Lulu, tulip, tuba, tuna, tutu. More commonly human, humid, humility, humiliate. Also numismatist, nu-metal (a respelling of new).

There are also words ending -uation, -uous, -uing, where ⟨u⟩ is suffixed. This is a mutation of ⟨ue⟩, e.g. continue → continuous.