/v/ vs /w/: vest vs west
The teeth-on-lip /v/ and the rounded-lips /w/ separate vine/wine, vet/wet and verse/worse. Merging them is the signature English error for Hindi, Urdu, German and Russian speakers.
- Medium impact
- 7 pairs
- Three voices
1 / 10
Which word do you hear?
See the difference
Look in a mirror: /v/ shows your top teeth touching your bottom lip; /w/ shows a tight round 'kiss' with no teeth at all. If you can see teeth on 'west', it will sound like 'vest'.
v
as in vest
- Lips
- Bottom lip under the top teeth
- Tongue
- Resting; top teeth on the bottom lip
- Voice
- On: feel your throat buzz
- Air
- Squeezed through a narrow gap
w
as in west
- Lips
- Pushed forward, rounded
- Tongue
- Back of the tongue raised, lips rounded
- Voice
- On: feel your throat buzz
- Air
- Flows freely through the mouth
All 7 pairs
In a sentence
Hardest for speakers of
Questions
What is the difference between vest and west?
vest /vest/ uses the /v/ sound while west /west/ uses /w/. Look in a mirror: /v/ shows your top teeth touching your bottom lip; /w/ shows a tight round 'kiss' with no teeth at all. If you can see teeth on 'west', it will sound like 'vest'.
Which learners find the /v/ vs /w/ contrast hardest?
It is most challenging for Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, German, Russian, Mandarin speakers, whose first languages don't separate these two sounds.