The spelling of the word "uman" can be confusing to some, as its pronunciation does not match its traditional spelling. The phonetic transcription for "uman" is /jumæn/. The first sound is a voiced palatal approximant, similar to the "y" sound in "yes." The following vowel is a short "u" sound, as in "bus." The final consonant cluster consists of an unvoiced bilabial stop (similar to a "p" sound) followed by an unvoiced velar nasal (similar to an "ng" sound).