Close-mid back rounded vowel

The close-mid back rounded vowel, also called the high-mid back rounded vowel, is a special kind of vowel sound found in many languages. To make this sound, you shape your mouth and lips in a certain way: raise your tongue toward the roof of your mouth, but not too high, and round your lips.

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, this vowel is written with the symbol ⟨o⟩. You can hear this sound in words from many languages. For example, in French, the word pot (meaning “pot”) uses this vowel sound.

Learning about vowel sounds like the close-mid back rounded vowel helps people who study languages, learn new languages, or help others with speech. It shows how small changes in your mouth and lips can create different sounds that mean different things when we talk.

Close-mid back protruded vowel

The close-mid back protruded vowel is a common vowel sound in many languages. It is usually written with the symbol ⟨o⟩ in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). This symbol is used in this article to show the sound.

In English, the symbol ⟨o⟩ is often linked to the sound in the word "goat." However, in standard British and American English, this sound is actually a diphthong, meaning it changes a little during speaking. The sound closest to the pure ⟨o⟩ in English is in words like caught, horse, and hoarse. This sound is usually written as ⟨ɔː⟩, though it sounds very similar to ⟨o⟩.

Close-mid back compressed vowel

Only Wu Chinese uses this special vowel sound. It is different from the more common close-mid back vowel. The height of both vowels can change.

Its vowel height is close-mid. This means the tongue is halfway between a high position and a middle position. Its vowel backness is back, so the tongue is toward the back of the mouth. The sound is made with the back of the tongue at the soft palate. The lips are tightly pressed together.