/f/

consonant · voiceless

The F Sound

as in fall

How to make the /f/ sound

Voiceless — no vocal cord vibration
voiced voiceless
  1. 1Rest the top teeth on the bottom lip.
  2. 2Blow air through the gap — no voice.
  3. 3Spelled f, ff, ph, or gh ("enough", "laugh").

⚠ The most common mistake

Using both lips (a "p-like" sound) instead of teeth-on-lip.

Especially tricky for speakers of: Korean, Japanese, Tagalog.

Train your ear: /f/ vs /p/

These two words differ by exactly one sound. Tap both — can you hear it?

Practice: Record & Compare

Record yourself saying fall, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.

Practice words with /f/

Tap the speaker to hear each word; tap the word for its full pronunciation page.

More consonants

See all 44 sounds of English →