Decoding exercises: "iu"

The sequence "iu" normally is part of two syllables (as in "genius" or "triumph"). This page sets out some words teachers can use to help their students become more aware of how they can sound out more correctly the different sounds corresponding to words containing "iu".

"ium" at the end of the word
There are (literally) hundreds of words ending in "ium" pronounced /iːəm/ or /ɪ.əm/.

Chemical elements
 * aluminium, beryllium, calcium, chromium, helium, lithium, magnesium, potassium, radium, scandium, sodium, titanium, uranium, vanadium

Other chemical words
 * ammonium

Other
 * aquarium, auditorium, condominium, equilibrium, geranium, medium, millennium, premium, solarium, symposium

Two syllables

 * /aɪʌ/: triumph, triumphal
 * /aɪjuː/: diuretic
 * /iːə, ɪ.ə/: radius

One syllable

 * /uː/: jiu-jitsu
 * /ə/: Belgium

Variant pronunciations

 * /iːə, ɪ.ə, jə/: genius