The close back unrounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is M. The IPA symbol is a turned letter m, although given its relation to the sound represented by the letter u, it can be considered a u with an extra "bowl". The sound is sometimes referred to as "unrounded u".

Features

• Its vowel height is close, which means the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
• Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
• Its vowel roundedness is unrounded, which means that the lips are spread.

Occurs in

• Korean: eumsik , 'food'
• Turkish: ılık , 'mild'
• Vietnamese: tư , 'fourth'

This symbol is often used to transcribe the Japanese . However, that vowel is actually a close back compressed vowel, which has no IPA symbol of its own.

Vowels

Ungerundeter geschlossener Hinterzungenvokal | Voyelle haute postérieure non arrondie | 후설 비원순 고모음 | 非円唇後舌狭母音