https://video.pavel-english.ru/videos/watch/61f2a00b-5b35-4f83-8fd4-3884bbc166ce Most likely you have the /f/ consonant in your native language and you don't consider this sound to be difficult to pronounce. The question is do you pronounce the /f/ like an American? As always, there are some things to watch out for. Similar sounds in other languages are close enough to the American /f/, but they're not quite the same. Needless to say, English spelling can be confusing -10% of words with this sound don't even have the letter 'f'. In this video, you'll learn how to make the /f/ sound correctly and find out how to avoid typical pronunciation mistakes. You'll be able to practice making this sound with several pronunciation exercises recorded by a professional speech therapist. By the way, we have a website: https://soundsamerican.net/ Quick Links: • Consonant sound /f/, as in "fun:" 00:00 • Fricative consonants overview: 00:47 • Fricative consonants definition: 01:36 • How to pronounce the /f/ sound: 02:51 • Typical mistakes: 03:48 • Pronunciation exercise 1: 06:12 • Pronunciation exercise 2: 08:29 • Pronunciation exercise 3: 10:11 • Spelling for the /f/ sound: 12:03 • Question from subscribers: 12:37 Related Videos: #AmericanPronunciation #ConsonantSounds #FricativeSounds ► Consonant Sound /f/ as in "fun" - this video ► Consonant Sound /v/ as in "very" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Oro6v0klg ► Consonant Sound /s/ as in "sun" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hWPXaPXrnQ ► Consonant Sound /z/ as in "zoo" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky7Jh9Bbjts ► Consonant Sound /ʃ/ as in "show" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wINb4HFguck ► Consonant Sound /ʒ/ as in "vision" - work in progress ► Consonant Sound /θ/ as in "think" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC0l6GQZtM4 ► Consonant Sound /ð/ as in "this" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZb_EWVCUoE ► Consonant Sound /h/ as in "home" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV6At0g4n78 ► Vowel Length Rule: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQa9w__GqLc&t=364s [THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, JAPANESE, СHINESE, VIETNAMESE, KOREAN, AND PORTUGUESE SUBTITLES]TRANSCRIPT Hello there! This is the "Sounds American" channel. In this video, we're going to talk about the American consonant sound /f/, as in the word "fun." You can also hear this sound in words like "fine," "phone," "coffee" or "laugh." We’ll be using a special phonetic symbol - surprise! - /f/ - for this sound. Let's begin with some phonology. Don't worry, it won't be too complicated. If you've followed us this far, there's been worse. 😃 The /f/ belongs to a category of consonant sounds called the fricatives. This is the largest group of consonants in American English: it consists of nine different sounds! All these sounds are made by partially blocking the air moving through your mouth which creates an audible friction. Speaking about the /f/ consonant, this sound is made by partially blocking the air with your lower lip and your upper teeth. Many non-native English speakers are familiar with the /f/ sound and consider it to be easy to pronounce. Indeed, it's not the hardest consonant to make, but there are some things to watch out for. • First, this sound is not always represented by the letter 'f' and this can sometimes be a problem. • Second, similar sounds exist in many languages and some non-native speakers use their native /f/ consonant when they speak English. • Third, and most importantly, Americans pronounce their /f/ with lots of friction. Let's find out how they do it. To make the /f/ sound correctly, focus on the position of your lips and teeth. First, lightly bite your lower lip. Make sure you do it gently and leave a tiny gap between your lip and your teeth. Now, release a stream of air through that gap, creating lots of friction. The air should flow over your lip. Remember, the /f/ is a continuous sound, so you should be able to stretch it out, like this: /f-f-f-f-f/. Now, let's try saying it: /f/, /f/, /f/. [Pronunciation exercise 1] • find • first • friend • phone • five • free • front • food • fly • fish • floor • firm • frame • flag • float • flame • flew • frog • phrase • foam [Pronunciation exercise 2] • afraid • after • breakfast • coffee • comfort • defend • different • draft • effort • gift • inform • left • lift • loft • offer • office • draft • sofa • soft • telephone [Pronunciation exercise 3] • brief • chief • cliff • cough • enough • golf • graph • knife • leaf • life • puff • rough • safe • scarf • self • shelf • staff • stiff • tough • wolf Thu, 09 Jul 2026 04:42:01 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://video.pavel-english.ru https://video.pavel-english.ru/client/assets/images/icons/icon-96x96.png https://video.pavel-english.ru/videos/watch/61f2a00b-5b35-4f83-8fd4-3884bbc166ce All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://video.pavel-english.ru/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.