/v/

The /v/ sound uses exactly the same mouth position as /f/. Lightly touch your upper front teeth to your lower lip, just inside where the lip gets moist. Keep the contact gentle. Now push a steady stream of air through the narrow gap between your teeth and lip.

Here's the difference: your vocal cords vibrate. Place your hand on your throat while making the sound and you should feel a distinct buzzing. The sound combines this voice with the friction of air escaping past your teeth and lip.

These two sounds are a voiced-voiceless pair. They're made identically except /f/ is "quiet" (no vocal cord vibration) and /v/ is "voiced" (vocal cords buzz).

Try alternating between them: "fffff... vvvvv... fffff... vvvvv." You should feel the vibration switch on and off in your throat. Your lip and teeth stay in the same position throughout.

This distinction matters in word pairs like "fan" vs "van," "leaf" vs "leave," and "half" vs "halve." Notice that before /v/, the vowel often sounds slightly longer.

The "throat test" is your friend here. Rest your fingers lightly on your throat and sustain the sound. For /v/, you'll feel a strong, continuous buzz. If you don't feel anything, you're probably making /f/.

A common error is curling your lower lip too far under your top teeth. Keep the contact light and natural. If it feels effortful or tight, you're pressing too hard.