Bilabial trill facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bilabial trill
ʙ
Image
IPA number	121
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ʙ
Unicode (hex)	U+0299
X-SAMPA	B\
Kirshenbaum	b<trl>

The bilabial trill is a special kind of consonant sound. It's made by vibrating both your lips together, like when you make a "brrr" sound when you're cold. This sound is used in some spoken languages around the world.

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system that helps people write down sounds from all languages. It shows this sound as ⟨⟩. Another system, called X-SAMPA, uses the symbol B\ for it.

In many languages, you won't find the bilabial trill by itself. Instead, it often appears as part of a longer sound. Imagine saying a "b" sound, but then your lips quickly vibrate right after. This is called a "prenasalized bilabial stop with trilled release." It's a bit tricky to say!

There's also a similar sound that is "voiceless," meaning you don't use your voice box to make it. This is called a "voiceless alveolar bilabially trilled affricate." It's even rarer! You can hear it in languages like Pirahã and in a few words from Chapacuran languages like Wari’ and Oro Win. Sometimes, it's also heard in Abkhaz and Ubykh, but usually, it's made in a slightly different way in those languages.

How This Sound is Made

The bilabial trill has some interesting features:

• It's a
• Its behavior is trill. It means that we produce this sound by directing air over the articulator so that it vibrates. sound. This means it's made by one part of your mouth vibrating against another. In this case, it's your two lips vibrating together.
• It's a
• We produce it at bilabial. It means that we produce this sound with both lips. sound, which means both lips are used.
• It's usually
• Its phonation is voiced. It means that the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation., meaning your vocal cords vibrate when you make the sound.
• It's an
• It is an oral consonant. It means that air is allowed to escape through the mouth only. sound, meaning the air comes out of your mouth, not your nose.
• It's a
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic. It means that we produce this sound by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds. sound, meaning the air comes from your lungs.

Where You Can Hear It

Here are some examples of languages that use the bilabial trill:

See also

In Spanish: Vibrante múltiple bilabial sonora para niños