Decoding exercises: "ur"

The letter combination "ur" has several different pronunciations, mainly /ɜːr/ and /ər/. This article sets out some words teachers can use to help their students become more aware of the differences.

For "urr" see Decoding exercises: "urr".


 * /ɜː/: burn - burst - church - curve - hurt - nurse - occur - purchase - purpose - return - turn - urge
 * /jʊə/: pure - security
 * /jʊə, ʊə/: during
 * /ər/: century - culture - feature - future - measure - nature - picture - pressure - structure - surprise
 * /jər/: accurate - failure

Variant pronunciations

 * figure /ˈfɪɡər, ˈfɪɡjər/
 * natural /ˈnætʃərəl, ˈnætʃrəl/
 * sure /ʃʊər, ʃɔːr/ - assurance /əˈʃʊərəns, əˈʃɔːrəns/

Spelling anomalies

 * //: bury - burial