The Letter U - Sight Words, Reading, Writing, Spelling & Worksheets

The letter U makes the sound heard in the words up, funny and jump. This is the sound (short u) you would first introduce to a child. The letter u also makes the long u sound as heard in the words June, unit and menu. The long u is often pronounced as if the letter Y is in front of it, e.g., music (myuzik) & mule (myul).

The letter u is most commonly found using the short u sound, followed by the long u sound. When the letter u follows the letter Q, it sounds like a W, e.g., queen and quick. The letter u can also make the following sounds:

• Schwa sound, e.g., circus & supper,
• Short OO, e.g., full & sugar,
• Long OO, e.g., truth, Sue & duty,
• ER Sound, e.g., fur & purple,
• Broad O vowel, e.g., auto & haul, and
• Diphthong, e.g. out & loud.

The letter U can also sound like a short i, e.g. busy, and like a short e, e.g. bury.

Letter U Worksheets

We created worksheets to help your child practice forming the letter U correctly. Ideally, letters should be formed from top to bottom and left to right with a continuous stroke when possible. The uppercase U is formed as follows: down, curve and up. The lowercase U is formed as follows: down, curve, up and then down.

Letter U Worksheet 1
We offer a free printable worksheet that encourages a child to say, trace and write the upper- and lowercase letter u.

Letter U Worksheet 2
We offer a free printable worksheet that focuses on the uppercase letter u. We encourage a child to say, trace and write the uppercase letter u.

Letter U Worksheet 3
We offer a free printable worksheet that focuses on the lowercase letter u. We encourage a child to say, trace and write the lowercase letter u.

Letter U Worksheet 4
We offer a free printable worksheet that encourages a child to say, trace and write the upper- and lowercase letter u.

Letter U Worksheet 5
We offer a free printable worksheet that encourages a child to say, trace and write the upper- and lowercase letter u.

Letter U Worksheet 6
We offer a free printable worksheet that encourages a child to say, trace and write the upper- and lowercase letter u. We also included a fun game – circle the items that begin with the letter u.

Words with the Letter U

The table below contains a list of words with the letter u. We also indicate the location of the short u sound – beginning (initial) or middle (medial). Our list contains 260 words; please use our search feature to narrow results.

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