Lips
Round your lips tightly and push them forward, like a firm "oo". This strong rounding is the heart of /w/.
Other consonants
/w/as in wet
Voiced glide. Round the lips, then open to the vowel.
Example words: wet, win, away, water, always
Accent
Mouth
How do you pronounce the /w/ sound?
Tongue
Raise the back of your tongue toward the soft palate at the same time. Then let lips and tongue glide smoothly into the next vowel.
Video lesson
Try it
- Round your lips tightly and push them forward.
- Raise the back of your tongue and switch your voice on.
- Release: glide quickly from the tight rounding into the vowel.
- Feel your lips move on every one: wet, win, away.
Check
Watch your lips in a mirror on "wet". They should start tightly rounded and then open. Then try "wood": you should still see a clear rounding movement before the vowel.
Common trap
Do not weaken it before "oo" vowels. In "wood" or "would", the /w/ needs an EXTRA tight rounding first, then a release into the vowel. If you skip the movement, the /w/ disappears.
Practice: /w/
Words
wetwˈɛt
winwˈɪn
awayəwˈeɪ
waterwˈɔɾəɹ
alwaysˈɔlwˌeɪz
Sentences
We want to win the game.wˌi wˈɑnt tə wˈɪn ðə ɡˈeɪm.
The weather was wet and windy.ðə wˈɛðəɹ wʌz wˈɛt ænd wˈɪndi.
She always walks to work on Wednesdays.ʃˌi ˈɔlwˌeɪz wˈɔks tə wˈɜɹk ˌɔn wˈɛnzdˌeɪz.
Would you like some warm water?wˌʊd ju lˈaɪk sˌʌm wˈɔɹm wˈɔɾəɹ?
We waited a while, then walked away.wˌi wˈeɪɾᵻd ɐ wˌaɪl, ðˈɛn wˈɔkt əwˈeɪ.
Words
wetwˈɛt
winwˈɪn
awayəwˈeɪ
waterwˈɔːtə
alwaysˈɔːlweɪz
Sentences
We want to win the game.wˌiː wˈɒnt tə wˈɪn ðə ɡˈeɪm.
The weather was wet and windy.ðə wˈɛðə wɒz wˈɛt and wˈɪndi.
She always walks to work on Wednesdays.ʃˌiː ˈɔːlweɪz wˈɔːks tə wˈɜːk ˌɒn wˈɛnzdeɪz.
Would you like some warm water?wˌʊd juː lˈaɪk sˌʌm wˈɔːm wˈɔːtə?
We waited a while, then walked away.wˌiː wˈeɪtɪd ɐ wˌaɪl, ðˈɛn wˈɔːkt əwˈeɪ.
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Sounds in the same group
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