Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips (bilabial articulation) or with the lower lip and the upper teeth (labiodental articulation). English is a bilabial nasal sonorant, and are bilabial stops (plosives), and are labiodental fricatives.

Bilabial fricatives and the bilabial approximant do not exist in standard English, but do occur in many languages. For example, the Spanish consonant spelt b or v is pronounced as a voiced bilabial approximant between vowels.

Lip rounding, or labialisation can also accompany other articulations. English is a labialised velar approximant.

Labial consonants are divided into three subplaces of articulation:

• bilabial consonants
• labiodental consonants
• linguolabial consonants

See also

List of phonetics topics

Labial consonant

شفوي | Labial | Consonne labiale | 입술소리 | Varahljóð | עיצורים שפתיים | Labial konsonant | 唇音