/ʊə/

diphthong

The URE (tour) Sound

as in tour

How to make the /ʊə/ sound

Voiced — vocal cords vibrate
voiced voiceless
  1. 1Start with short OO…
  2. 2…then open into schwa.
  3. 3Many modern speakers say "aw" instead ("tour" = "tor") — both are accepted.

⚠ The most common mistake

Forcing two full syllables: "too-er".

Especially tricky for speakers of: Korean, Thai.

Practice: Record & Compare

Record yourself saying tour, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.

Practice words with /ʊə/

Tap the speaker to hear each word; tap the word for its full pronunciation page.

tourpurecuriouseuropefurioussecuritymaturetourist

More diphthongs

/eɪ/ day/aɪ/ my/ɔɪ/ boy/aʊ/ now/əʊ/ go/ɪə/ ear/eə/ air

See all 44 sounds of English →