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Consonant
Y
The Y sound, represented by /j/ in IPA, is a voiced palatal approximant. It's like a very quick /iː/ (ee) sound that glides into the following vowel.
y
Phonetic System (Merriam-Webster):
yWatch the Sound
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Example Words
Main Example
yes
Phonetic:
/jes/Common Words
yes
/jes/yellow
/ˈjeloʊ/you
/juː/beyond
/bɪˈjɑːnd/million
/ˈmɪljən/Minimal Pairs
Listen and compare similar sounds
y
yes
/jes/Compare with
Y
Jess
/dʒes/y
yacht
/jɑːt/Compare with
Y
lot
/lɑːt/y
use (noun)
/juːs/Compare with
U
juice
/dʒuːs/y
yet
/jet/Compare with
Y
wet
/wet/Tongue Twister
Young Yolanda yielded yellow yarn yesterday.
Try it yourself
Practice saying this tongue twister
Technical Details
- CategoryConsonant
- VoicingVoiced
- Place of ArticulationPalatal
- Manner of ArticulationApproximant
- Mouth PositionStart with your tongue high and near the front of your mouth, almost touching the hard palate (similar to the /iː/ sound). The sides of your tongue should touch the upper side teeth. Keep your lips relaxed or slightly spread. Quickly move your tongue away from the palate as you voice the sound, gliding into the next vowel. Your vocal cords vibrate.