The Vowel Sound U/ooh/ – “It’s Never About YOU” | ITALIAN LANGUAGE NUGGET o’ the week | Navigating Pronunciation Landmines

Rather listen than read? ⇓ Podcast below ⇓

This week’s Italian Language Nugget is brought to you by yet another vowel sound pronunciation landmine. The letter in question is U. Just like the vowels A [“Don’t Call Me Al“] and I [“Rhymes with Tree“], it’s a very straightforward sound.

Anatomy of U

In Italian, unless it’s paired with Q, the letter U is pronounced like a short, decisive /ooh/. It’s the same sound heard in the English words boot, shoe, blue, and crew.

Some common Italian Vowel Sound U words are uno, due, tu, su, lui, and cucina. See the Word Glossary at the end of this post for word definitions and more U words.

Q + U = If U shows up after Q, the combo of the two letters is /kw/, the same as in English. Some frequent QU combo words in Italian are qui, qua, quando, and quale.

[Side note: the QU combo in Italian is different than in Spanish, where it’s pronounced /k/, as in queso /kay-so/, the Spanish word for cheese]

It’s never about YOU

U’s not a tricky letter, but occasionally Italian language learners get snagged on cognates [words that look, sound, and have similar meanings between languages] such as museo, continuare, and università.

Because their English equivalents contain a consonant Y sound, it takes some effort to pronounce the U in those words as only /ooh/ and not as YOU, because… when it comes to U in Italian It’s never about YOU 😀 😀 😀

There you have it, the Italian Vowel Sound U.  I Hope this has been helpful. Be sure to check out the Word Glossary below for more U practice words.

– Are you saying it correctly?? Listen to the mini podcast of this Language Nugget to hear and practice saying these words right!

Leave a comment! Is the Italian Vowel Sound U /ooh/ easy or tricky for you? Are there any words that really trip you up? Let me know what other Italian pronunciation landmines you’d like me to cover. I look forward to reading your thoughts and questions in the comments section below! [And if you haven’t yet, do sign up for updates, and you’ll never miss a Language Nugget!]

Word Glossary

• Here’s a roundup of common words in Italian with the /ooh/ sound:
  • Uno | one
  • due | two
  • tu | you (familiar, singular)
  • Su | up, on, above
  • lui | he
  • cucina | kitchen, cuisine
  • minuto | minute
  • buono | good
  • ufficio | office
  • più | more
  • guardare |  to watch
  • tutto | all, everything
  • vuole | he, she, it wants (from the verb volere)
  • uomo | man
  • comune | common, community, municipality
  • giusto | right, correct, just
  • turista | tourist
  • suo | his, her, its
  • subito | immediately, right away
  • aiuto | help
  • ultimo | last, final, most recent
  • studiare | to study
  • scuola | school
  • menù | menu
• And here are some frequent QU combo words:
  • qui, qua | here (used interchangeably)
  • quando | when
  • quale | which
  • questo | this
  • quello | that
  • quasi | almost
  • qualche | some
  • qualcosa | something
  • qualcuno | someone
• Finally, be on the lookout for these sneaky cognates (and remember, it’s never about YOU):
  • museo | museum
  • cellulare | cell phone
  • continuare | to continue
  • università | university
  • sicuro | sure, certain, safe, secure, trustworthy
  • sicuramente | surely, certainly, safely, securely