/v/ — the /v/ sound
the /v/ sound
Consonants · Fricatives
This sound hasn't been scored yet.

How to make it
Like /f/, but voiced and held a little longer.
Pairs with /f/ — 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.
of
/ʌv/
five
/ˈfaɪ̯v/
give
/ɡɪv/
have
/hæv/
live
/lɪv/
love
/lʌv/
move
/muːv/
oven
/ˈʌvn/
over
/ˈoʊvər/
van
/væn/
above
/əˈbʊv/
arrive
/əˈɹaɪv/
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by exactly one sound. Listen until you can tell them apart, then say them yourself.
- v
have
/hæv/
fhalf
/hæf/
- v
vine
/ˈvaɪ̯n/
wwine
/waɪn/
- v
vase
/veɪs/
bbase
/beɪs/
- v
van
/væn/
ppan
/pæn/
- v
have
/hæv/
that
/hæt/
- v
live
/lɪv/
dlid
/lɪd/
- v
van
/væn/
kcan
/kæn/
- v
vote
/voʊt/
ggoat
/ɡoʊt/
Test yourself on this sound
Read these 8 words in one recording. The AI scores every sound and tells you whether your /v/ came out right.