/v/ /w/
The V and W sounds
V is made with the lip and teeth; W is made with the lips alone. Confusing them turns 'vest' into 'west' and 'wine' into 'vine' — one of the most noticeable accent markers in English.
Who this is for: Speakers of German, Dutch, Hindi, Tagalog, Russian, Korean and Chinese languages.
36 words with IPA · minimal pairs · sentence ladders · free, no signup
Where to put your tongue
- 1For /v/: rest the top teeth lightly on the inside of the bottom lip, then push voiced air through. You should feel a buzz in the lip.
- 2Hold /v/ for two seconds. It is a continuous sound, not a quick tap.
- 3For /w/: round both lips into a tight circle, as if starting 'oo', then glide immediately into the vowel.
- 4The teeth never touch the lip for /w/. Put a finger on your lip to check.
- 5For /f/, keep the /v/ position but turn the voice off.
Common mistakes
- Using a /w/ where a /v/ belongs: 'very' becoming 'wery'.
- Using a /v/ where a /w/ belongs: 'water' becoming 'vater'.
- Hardening /v/ into /b/: 'vote' becoming 'boat' (common for Spanish speakers).
- Devoicing final /v/: 'love' becoming 'loff'.
Word list
IPA plus a plain respelling — capitals mark the stressed syllable. Read each column slowly first, then at speaking pace.
V sound
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| very | /ˈvɛr.i/ | VAIR-ee |
| vowel | /ˈvaʊ.əl/ | VOW-uhl |
| village | /ˈvɪl.ɪdʒ/ | VIL-ij |
| vehicle | /ˈviː.ə.kəl/ | VEE-uh-kuhl |
| visible | /ˈvɪz.ə.bəl/ | VIZ-uh-buhl |
| available | /əˈveɪ.lə.bəl/ | uh-VAY-luh-buhl |
| survive | /sɚˈvaɪv/ | sur-VIVE |
| develop | /dɪˈvɛl.əp/ | dih-VEL-uhp |
| of | /ʌv/ | UV |
| love | /lʌv/ | LUV |
W sound
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| water | /ˈwɑː.tɚ/ | WAH-tur |
| world | /wɜːrld/ | WURLD |
| wonderful | /ˈwʌn.dɚ.fəl/ | WUN-dur-fuhl |
| women | /ˈwɪm.ɪn/ | WIM-in |
| would | /wʊd/ | WOOD |
| wolf | /wʊlf/ | WULF |
| awkward | /ˈɔːk.wɚd/ | AWK-wurd |
| language | /ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪdʒ/ | LANG-gwij |
| quality | /ˈkwɑː.lə.t̬i/ | KWAH-luh-tee |
| squirrel | /ˈskwɜːr.əl/ | SKWUR-uhl |
F sound (same lip position, no voice)
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| fifth | /fɪfθ/ | FIFTH |
| photograph | /ˈfoʊ.t̬ə.ɡræf/ | FOH-tuh-graf |
| comfortable | /ˈkʌmf.tɚ.bəl/ | KUMF-tur-buhl |
| enough | /ɪˈnʌf/ | ih-NUF |
| difficult | /ˈdɪf.ə.kəlt/ | DIF-uh-kult |
| laugh | /læf/ | LAF |
| often | /ˈɔː.fən/ | AW-fuhn |
| half | /hæf/ | HAF |
Silent W and tricky spellings
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| answer | /ˈæn.sɚ/ | AN-sur (no W) |
| sword | /sɔːrd/ | SORD (no W) |
| two | /tuː/ | TOO (no W) |
| wrist | /rɪst/ | RIST (no W) |
| write | /raɪt/ | RITE (no W) |
| whether | /ˈwɛð.ɚ/ | WETH-ur |
| whole | /hoʊl/ | HOLE (no W) |
| Wednesday | /ˈwɛnz.deɪ/ | WENZ-day |
Minimal pairs
Say each pair out loud, three times. If the two words sound identical, the sound is not landing yet.
vest vs west
the definitive V/W test
vine vs wine
teeth on lip vs lips only
veal vs wheel
hold the /v/ buzz
very vs wary
in running speech
ferry vs very
unvoiced /f/ vs voiced /v/
leaf vs leave
final voicing
Sentence ladders
Start with the single word, then add length. Never move up a rung until the one below is clean.
very
very valuable
Vivian's very valuable violin vanished.
water
warm water
We watched warm water wash over the wall.
vowel
every vowel
Every vowel in the village was voiced well.
whether
whether or not
Whether the weather is wet, we will wait.
Tongue twisters for this sound
Practise these with your microphone and get an instant accuracy score.
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
medium · practise with the mic →
Four furious friends fought for the phone.
medium · practise with the mic →
If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch?
hard · practise with the mic →
Wayne went to Wales to watch walruses.
easy · practise with the mic →
Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.
medium · practise with the mic →
A wacky woodchuck whittled a wooden whistle.
hard · practise with the mic →
A ten-minute daily routine
- 1. Two minutes on the mouth position, in front of a mirror.
- 2. Three minutes reading the word list aloud, slowly.
- 3. Two minutes on minimal pairs, three times each.
- 4. Two minutes climbing one sentence ladder.
- 5. One minute on a tongue twister — slow first, fast last.
- 6. Record yourself once a week and compare.