Labial glide /w/

 

Labial glide /w/

/w/ is a labial glide. To pronounce the /w/ sound, form your lips into a small, tight circle, and let the air out as if you are blowing out a candle. 

Words with /w/ 

The /w/ sound can be at the beginning or in the middle of a word.

 

with W: 

woman, wife, sweet, win, rewind, towel, winter, wag, wage, walk, wall, wane, ward, warn, wart, watt, wave, Wayne, ways, weak, wear, wee, weed, week, weep, west, wick, wig, will, win, wind, wine, wink, wipe, woe, wok, woke, wonder, woo, wool, word, worm, worn, worse, worst, wow, Y

with WH:

why, where, when, while, what, whack, whale, wheat, wheel, wheeze, whip, whirl, white

(Not all WH words are pronounced as a /w/ sound. In these words, WH is pronounced as the /h/ sound: who, whom, whole.)

/kw/ (The ‘QU’ spelling is a /k/ sound followed by a /w/ sound.)

quit, quick, quite, quiet, queen, squat, squash, squad 

 

/w/ without ‘W’: Some words have a /w/ sound without the letter ‘W’: 

one, someone, choir, sanguin, penguin. 

 

 silent  ‘W’

W is silent in WR words, and only R is pronounced: e.g., write, wrong . Also, the ‘W’ in these words is silent: answer, sword, two.

 

∅, /w/ minimal pairs

win in

wage age

will ill

weevil evil

sweet seat

woke oak

Y I

wall all

wax ax

wire ire

wake ache

war ore

weigh A

way A

wade aid

weight ate

wait ate

/v/, /w/ minimal pairs

These sounds can be a challenge to German speakers. 

V we 

vent went 

vied wide 

vain Wayne 

verse worse 

vile while 

vary wary 

vest west

Vince wince 

vaulter Walter 

vet wet 

vine whine 

wavered wayward 

Vic wick 

viper wiper 

veal wheel 

vicar wicker 

visor wiser 

veered weird 

volley Wally 

vein wane 

vie Y 

vow wow

/w/ sentences

These are sentences with /w/. 

Wally Winkle wriggles his white, wrinkled wig.

Wayne went to Wales to watch walruses.

Quick! Where is my one and only one, wonderful wife?

The winter queen will win the war. 

What is the name of the woman with the white flower? 

William won the quick race.

Who would quit the choir?

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? 

He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.(tongue twister)