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Consonant

W

The W sound is a voiced labio-velar approximant. It's like a quick glide starting with rounded lips (similar to the OO vowel /u/) and moving quickly away from that position.

w
Phonetic System (Merriam-Webster):w

Watch the Sound

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Example Words

Main Example

way
Phonetic: /weɪ/

Common Words

way/weɪ/
we/wi/
water/ˈwɔtər/
will/wɪl/
work/wɜrk/
why/waɪ/
what/wʌt/
when/wɛn/
always/ˈɔlweɪz/
queen/kwin/

Minimal Pairs

Listen and compare similar sounds

w
wet
/wɛt/
Compare with
W
vet
/vɛt/
w
wine
/waɪn/
Compare with
W
vine
/vaɪn/
w
why
/waɪ/
Compare with
W
Y
/waɪ/
w
west
/wɛst/
Compare with
W
vest
/vɛst/

Tongue Twister

Why do you cry, Willy? Why do you cry? Why, Willy? Why, Willy? Why, Willy? Why?

Try it yourself

Practice saying this tongue twister

Technical Details

  • CategoryConsonant
  • VoicingVoiced
  • Place of ArticulationLabio-velar
  • Manner of ArticulationApproximant (Glide)
  • Mouth PositionStart with lips tightly rounded and pushed forward slightly. The back of the tongue is high, close to the soft palate (similar to /u/). Then, quickly relax the lips and tongue as you voice the sound, gliding into the next sound in the word.