So-called “short oo”

The so-called “short oo” sound is an informal term that means the short sound of the digraph oo which is IPA phoneme /ʊ/.


 * Examples: foot, good, or wood

The term “short oo” is not recommended because it's confusing to say "full is pronounced with short oo". If this sentence had to be spoken it would be better to say "full is pronounced with the FOOT vowel". Alternatively it could be said "full' is pronounced like the short sound of the digraph oo".

Another reason why the terms “long oo” and “short oo” are not recommended is because the opposition between /ʊ/ and /uː/ (“long oo”) is not only a difference in length, but also a difference in quality.

Examples

 * book - cook - foot - good - took - wood - wool