A university or an university

Question

University starts with a vowel and so shouldn't it be an?

Answer 1

The correct form is "a university."

Although "university" starts with the vowel letter "u", it begins with a consonant sound /juː/ (like "you-niversity"). The article "a" is used before words that start with a consonant sound, regardless of the actual first letter.

Examples:

• ✅ a university

• ✅ a uniform

• ❌ an university

• ✅ an umbrella (because "umbrella" starts with the vowel sound /ʌ/)