Close back rounded vowel
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| Edit - 2× | Front | Near-front | Central | Near-back | Back |
| Close | |||||
| Near‑close | |||||
| Close‑mid | |||||
| Mid | |||||
| Open‑mid | |||||
| Near‑open | |||||
| Open | |||||
represents a rounded vowel.
| IPA – number | 308 |
| IPA – text | u |
| IPA – image | |
| Entity | u |
| X-SAMPA | u |
| Kirshenbaum | u |
| Sound sample | |
The close back rounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is u, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is u.
There is also a close back compressed vowel which contrasts with both the rounded and unrounded close back vowels.
- Its vowel height is close, which means the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
- Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
- Its vowel roundedness is rounded, which means that the lips are rounded and protrude, and the inner surfaces are exposed.