U (letter)

U is the 21st letter of the English alphabet. Its name is pronounced like the words you and ewe.

Use in English

Examples (the accents show stress and pronunciation: see English phonemes):

Irregular u’s

Spelling	Pronunciation
au pãir	*ô pãir

au pãir *ô pãir Austria *Óstria because *bicóz bûreau *byûrô bureaucracy *byurócracy bury earth bérry fruit business *bízniss busy *bízzy faux-pàs *fô-pà gauche *gôsh laureate *lóriət laurel *lórrəl Laurence *Lórrənce (more often spelt Lawrence) Laurie name lórry vehicle Maurice (BrE) first name Mórris surname mauve *môav (move is pronounced *moôve) pláteau *plátô tábleau *táblô

Also, in some BrE, u is pronounced f in lieuténant (*lefténant) - though in AmE and other BrE, it is a regular û.

See also

• Letter (alphabet)
• Alphabet
• Writing system
• Orthography
• Written language
• Writing