Sound Right

/ju/ — the USE vowel as in use, music, few

Main spellings (~95%)

The /ju/ sound combines a quick /j/ glide with the /u/ vowel. Four spellings cover almost all words.

⟨u⟩ ~35%

The letter ⟨u⟩ says /ju/ in open syllables and before certain consonants.

music human pupil future unit unique community computer popular regular

⟨u_e⟩ ~40%

The split digraph ⟨u_e⟩ (u-consonant-e) is the most common spelling in one-syllable words.

use cute mute fume excuse confuse refuse accuse amuse abuse

⟨ue⟩ ~15%

Common at the end of words.

argue value rescue continue queue tissue

⟨ew⟩ ~5%

few pew mew skew hew curfew nephew
After certain consonants (t, d, n, l, s, th), the /j/ disappears — this is called yod-dropping. Compare: music (with /j/) vs tune (often without /j/ in American English).

Unusual spellings (~5%)

⟨eau⟩

From French. Found in just a few common words.

beautiful beauty

⟨eu⟩

Also from French and Greek words.

feud neutral

⟨uu⟩

One common word.

vacuum

⟨ut⟩

From French. The ⟨t⟩ is silent.

debut

⟨ugh⟩

Mostly in names.

hugh

⟨ewe⟩

One word — the female sheep.

ewe
A ewe (female sheep)
A ewe — the only English word where ⟨ewe⟩ → /ju/.

/ju/ vs /u/

Don't confuse /ju/ with plain /u/! The /ju/ sound has a /j/ glide before the vowel. Compare: cute vs cool, few vs food.