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    The /w/ sound: w as in we

    • Consonant
    • Voiced
    • High priority for IELTS

    Hear it

    in we

    Lips
    Pushed forward, rounded
    Tongue
    Back of the tongue raised, lips rounded
    Voice
    On: feel your throat buzz
    Air
    Flows freely through the mouth

    The sound on its own: recording by Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Credits

    How to make /w/

    1. 1

      Round your lips into a tight circle, as if about to whistle.

    2. 2

      Raise the back of your tongue and glide into the next vowel.

    3. 3

      Your top teeth must NOT touch your bottom lip; that makes a v.

    Sounds like
    a quick 'oo' gliding into the next sound

    /v/ vs /w/: vest vs west

    Every pair

    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'.

    1 / 8

    Which word do you hear?

    How /w/ is spelled

    • w
    • wh
    • u
    • o

    The usual mistake

    Merging it with /v/ so 'west' sounds like 'vest' and 'wine' like 'vine', a signature error for Hindi, Urdu, German and Russian speakers. The fix is fully rounded lips, no teeth contact.

    Hardest for speakers of

    Words to practise

    Say it and get scored

    Read we, away, quick, work, always aloud. Free, no account.

    Check my /w/

    Questions

    How do you pronounce the /w/ sound?
    Round your lips into a tight circle, as if about to whistle. Raise the back of your tongue and glide into the next vowel. Your top teeth must NOT touch your bottom lip; that makes a v.
    What is the most common mistake with /w/?
    Merging it with /v/ so 'west' sounds like 'vest' and 'wine' like 'vine', a signature error for Hindi, Urdu, German and Russian speakers. The fix is fully rounded lips, no teeth contact.
    Which spellings make the /w/ sound?
    Common spellings include “w”, “wh”, “u”, “o”, as in we /wiː/, away /əˈweɪ/, quick /kwɪk/.
    Does /w/ matter for IELTS?
    Yes. This is a high-priority sound. Errors here frequently change one word into another, which examiners hear as reduced clarity (the exact Band 6 wording is “mispronunciation … reduces clarity at times”).