/w/

consonant · voiced

The W Sound

as in wet

How to make the /w/ sound

Voiced — vocal cords vibrate
voiced voiceless
  1. 1Round the lips tightly, like for "oo".
  2. 2Glide quickly into the next vowel.
  3. 3Hidden in "one" (= "wun"), "choir" (= "kwire"), and every "qu".

⚠ The most common mistake

Replacing with V: "wine" → "vine".

Especially tricky for speakers of: German, Hindi, Russian, Polish.

Train your ear: /w/ vs /v/

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

Practice: Record & Compare

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

Practice words with /w/

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

More consonants

See all 44 sounds of English →