/f/ — the /f/ sound
the /f/ sound
Consonants · Fricatives
This sound hasn't been scored yet.
How to make it
Upper teeth rest lightly on the lower lip; push air through the gap. No voice.
Pairs with /v/ — same mouth shape, only the voicing differs.
Watch a native speaker say it
See the mouth and tongue before you record — hearing a sound rarely tells you where the tongue goes.
Rachel's English · English Sounds - F [f] and V [v] Consonants - How to make the F and V Consonants Watch on YouTube
More videos
Words with this sound
Tap the speaker to hear a native speaker say it.
if
/ɪf/
off
/ɔːf/
face
/feɪs/
fall
/fɔːl/
far
/fɑːr/
fat
/fæt/
fed
/ˈfed/
feed
/fiːd/
feel
/fiːl/
fell
/fel/
few
/fjuː/
fill
/fɪl/
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by exactly one sound. Listen until you can tell them apart, then say them yourself.
- f
half
/hæf/
vhave
/hæv/
- f
fee
/fiː/
ppea
/piː/
- f
offer
/ˈɔːfər/
θauthor
/ˈɔθɚ/
- f
fall
/fɔːl/
bball
/bɔl/
- f
fall
/fɔːl/
ttall
/tɔːl/
- f
fish
/fɪʃ/
ddish
/dɪʃ/
- f
fall
/fɔːl/
kcall
/kɔːl/
- f
flu
/flˈuː/
gglue
/ɡluː/
Test yourself on this sound
Read these 8 words in one recording. The AI scores every sound and tells you whether your /f/ came out right.