/ʌ/ — the /ʌ/ sound
the /ʌ/ sound
Vowels · Single vowels
This sound hasn't been scored yet.
How to make it
Mouth half open, tongue central, short and clipped. The vowel in “cup”.
Watch a native speaker say it
See the mouth and tongue before you record — hearing a sound rarely tells you where the tongue goes.
Rachel's English · American English - UH [ʌ] Vowel - How to make the UH Vowel Watch on YouTube
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Words with this sound
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of
/ʌv/
um
/ʌm/
bus
/bʌs/
but
/bʌt/
come
/kʌm/
cup
/kʌp/
cut
/kʌt/
duck
/dʌk/
love
/lʌv/
luck
/lʌk/
much
/mʌtʃ/
mum
/mʌm/
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by exactly one sound. Listen until you can tell them apart, then say them yourself.
- ʌ
um
/ʌm/
æam
/æm/
- ʌ
mum
/mʌm/
ɑːmom
/mɑːm/
- ʌ
shut
/ʃʌt/
iːsheet
/ʃit/
- ʌ
but
/bʌt/
ɪbit
/ˈbɪt/
- ʌ
one
/wʌn/
ewhen
/wen/
- ʌ
bud
/bʌd/
ɔːbored
/bˈɔːd/
- ʌ
luck
/lʌk/
ʊlook
/lʊk/
- ʌ
son
/sʌn/
uːsoon
/suːn/
Test yourself on this sound
Read these 8 words in one recording. The AI scores every sound and tells you whether your /ʌ/ came out right.