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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.

Phonetic
w
Voicing
Voiced
Place of Articulation
Labio-velar
Manner of Articulation
Approximant (Glide)
Mouth Position

Start 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.

How to Make This Sound

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Example Words

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

Pronunciation Practice

11 words

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3-5 essential words

Full Practice

All 11 words

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

Practice: Consonant
Why do you cry, Willy? Why do you cry? Why, Willy? Why, Willy? Why, Willy? Why?
Practice this tongue twister to improve your pronunciation