Bilabial consonant facts for kids

Bilabials, also known as bilabial consonants, are special sounds we make using both of our lips. When you say these sounds, your lips come together to briefly stop or change the flow of air coming from your mouth. Think about the "m" sound in "mom" or the "p" sound in "pop" – you use both lips for these!

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system that helps people write down and understand speech sounds from all languages. It includes eight main bilabial sounds.

Exploring Bilabial Sounds

Here's a look at some common bilabial sounds found in different languages:

IPA Symbol	What it's called	Example
		Language	Word	How it sounds (IPA)	Meaning
	bilabial nasal	English	man	/mæn/	man
	voiceless bilabial plosive	English	spin	/spɪn/	spin
	voiced bilabial plosive	English	bed	/bɛd/	bed
	voiceless bilabial fricative	Japanese	富士山 (fujisan)	/ɸɯdʑisaɴ/	Mount Fuji
	voiced bilabial fricative	Ewe	ɛʋɛ	/ɛβɛ/	Ewe
	bilabial approximant	Spanish	lobo	/loβo/	wolf
	bilabial trill
	bilabial click	Nǀu	ʘoe	/ʘoe/	meat

See also

In Spanish: Consonante bilabial para niños