Riadh, U is short unless followed by another vowel. (uh) up, cut, pup, mum, lump, etc cur, turd......the ur sound is also a short sound If u is followed by a vowel the sound is long. (oo, yoo, or yur) cruel suave dual unity cut......cute mutt ......mute pub.....pubic Upanishad plum.....plume crud.....crude cur....cure If there are two consonants after the u then the sound is short mutt pub.....pubic.....public putt butt plum....plume....plummet crust If the second vowel is "le" then three consonants are needed to protect the short sound. bugle ....long u puzzle....short u ruble.....long u rubble......short u Exceptions: put, butte ......and probably a few more :) There are also the blended sounds when u follows a vowel. ( au, ou )

No rule man. You're on your own here.

English is not a phonetic language, so no, there is no rule. You simply have to pay attention to the phonetics in your dictionary (that's what they're there for!).

there is no rule, you just kind of have to know. (english is ridiculous)

When you learn English for years you will use to the pronunciation of different sounds....don't count on rules in English most of forms have no rule ...listen and read then you will automatically pronounce words ...practice is more important than learning rules ...I have learnt English for 5years but I couldn't express a single thought because we focus on rules ...grammar ...only speaking with friends and reading helped me ....good luck