2

Is there any audible difference between this two words? Google Translate provides very similar transcriptions for them:

cookie - ˈko͝okē
kooky - ˈko͞okē

9
  • Minimal difference in English. In IPA: /'kʊ ki:/,/'ku: ki:/, or the vowel of 'book','look','hook,'rook' and respectively that of 'loop', 'choose', 'tube'.
    – Mitch
    Jul 2, 2018 at 19:34
  • 1
    Frankly, mispronunciation of those can signal non-native speaker to a native speaker (in AmE).
    – Lambie
    Jul 2, 2018 at 19:37
  • youtube.com/watch?v=OqL7jyrXhLs
    – Hot Licks
    Jul 2, 2018 at 20:43
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    For Kookie, listen to youtube.com/watch?v=MT9QZBGyXjU
    – Greg Lee
    Jul 2, 2018 at 20:43
  • @GregLee - Darn! I was about to post that!
    – Hot Licks
    Jul 2, 2018 at 20:44

2 Answers 2

6

Yes. Cook rhymes with book, and kook rhymes with Duke.

5
  • 1
    kook does not rhyme with Duke, more like with souk. The word pewk ryhmes with Duke. Jul 2, 2018 at 20:32
  • @WeatherVane: most speakers hear the "u" sound as a rhyme for "oo": the difference is just that "u" has a /j/ glide at the start. So "you" and "u" are homophones, for example.
    – herisson
    Jul 2, 2018 at 21:10
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    I think "spook" is a better rhyme for it.
    – Misha R
    Jul 2, 2018 at 21:22
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    @MishaR, Vic Mizzy would probably have agreed with you.
    – agc
    Jul 2, 2018 at 22:39
  • @WeatherVane, American vernacular pronunciation of Duke is different than English. In England Duke rhymes with rebuke, in the US it usually sounds like Gene Chandler's 1962 hit Duke of Earl.
    – agc
    Jul 3, 2018 at 4:58
2

The 'oo' in cookie sounds the same as the 'oo' in book, while the 'oo' in kooky sounds the same as the 'oo' in loony.

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