8. Pull vs. Pool: WOODEN HOOK /ʊ/ and BLUE MOON /u/
BLUE MOON is a moving vowel sound.
- The movement happens as the lips round out, away from the teeth
WOODEN HOOK is a non-moving vowel sound.
- WOODEN HOOK is very relaxed- release any tension in those speech muscles!
- Imagine the WOODEN HOOK sound bouncing around toward the back of your mouth. Contrast that with BLUE MOON, where you can feel the sound vibrating at your rounded lips.
Hold challenging speech sounds like WOODEN HOOK for 3 beats as you practice. This gives your ears time to notice the sound and helps your brain recall the correct sound more easily.
WOODEN HOOK
- Not a common sound in many languages so typically replaced with BLUE MOON
Substituting BLUE MOON for WOODEN HOOK does not impact intelligibility. 😊
WOODEN HOOK
- oo: good, look, book
- ould: could, would, should
- u: pull, push, sugar
BLUE MOON
- u: rule, student, super
- oo: too, choose, food
- o: do, who, lose
- ew: new, few, drew
WOODEN HOOK & BLUE MOON Training
The following exercises combine listening, shadowing, and gradually increasing complexity to help you internalize new sounds and rhythm patterns in your spoken English.
Level 1 is available to all visitors. CEA members unlock the complete training.
Goal: Hear and produce each vowel sound clearly in single words.
- Listen to the minimal pair words. Can you hear the contrast?
- Say the words with me, keeping each sound clear and distinct.
- Record yourself saying the pairs. Then listen back—do your WOODEN HOOK and BLUE MOON vowels sound different?
Mini Challenge: “Flood” the words in each column (say all of one column in a row). Can you keep the vowel sound consistent from top to bottom?
BLUE MOON & WOODEN HOOK Minimal Pairs
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BLUE MOON
-
WOODEN HOOK
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pool
-
pull
-
shoot
-
should
-
fool
-
full
-
boot
-
book
-
food
-
foot
45 Common WOODEN HOOK Words
There are not a lot of common words that use the WOODEN HOOK vowel sound, and fewer than 20 of them show up all the time in everyday English.
Below you’ll find a list of 45 words common WOODEN HOOK words, organized for easy practice.
(Clear English Academy members will also find audio recordings for these words plus guided practice at the phrase, sentence, and conversation level.)
| would | could | look | good | should |
| put | book | foot | pull | full |
| push | bush | wolf | wood | took |
| stood | hook | cook | bull | hood |
| crook | wool | shook | brook | nook |
| bookcase | goodness | sugar | woman | football |
| cookbook | cushion | bullet | cookie | wooden |
| understood | bulletin | overlook | butcher | pudding |
| footage | fully | withstood | booklet | bully |
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