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Consonant

L Sound

The L sound is a voiced alveolar lateral approximant. Airflow is blocked centrally by the tongue tip touching the alveolar ridge, but escapes around the sides of the tongue.

Phonetic
l
Voicing
Voiced
Place of Articulation
Alveolar
Manner of Articulation
Lateral Approximant (Liquid)
Mouth Position

Place the tip of your tongue on the alveolar ridge (the bumpy spot behind your upper front teeth). Keep the tongue tip there while voicing, allowing air to flow around the sides of the tongue. The back of the tongue position varies for light L (usually lower) vs. dark L (usually higher, often found at ends of words or after vowels in American English).

How to Make This Sound

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Example Words

lightMain Example
/laɪt/
like
/laɪk/
love
/lʌv/
look
/lʊk/
hello
/həˈloʊ/
feel
/fil/
ball
/bɔl/
table
/ˈteɪbəl/
little
/ˈlɪtəl/
blue
/blu/

Pronunciation Practice

11 words

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Quick Practice

3-5 essential words

Full Practice

All 11 words

Minimal Pairs

Listen and compare similar sounds

l
light
/laɪt/
Compare with
L
right
/raɪt/
l
low
/loʊ/
Compare with
L
row
/roʊ/
l
lead
/lid/
Compare with
L
read
/rid/
l
belly
/ˈbɛli/
Compare with
B
berry
/ˈbɛri/
l
lip
/lɪp/
Compare with
L
rip
/rɪp/

Tongue Twister

Practice: Consonant
“Larry sent the latter letter later.|Lovely little lollipops line long lasting lanes.|Lucy likes light blue lilies and lovely lemons.|A little lady lightly lit a little lattice lamp.”
Practice this tongue twister to improve your pronunciation