Voiced consonant facts for kids

In phonetics, which is the study of speech sounds, a voiced consonant is a sound you make when your vocal cords vibrate. Imagine your vocal cords like two tiny strings in your throat. When they buzz, you get a voiced sound. For example, the "z" sound in "zoo" is voiced. On the other hand, the "s" sound in "sun" is not voiced; it's called a voiceless consonant because your vocal cords don't vibrate when you make it.

What Makes a Sound Voiced?

You can easily feel if a sound is voiced! Just place your fingers gently on your throat, right on your larynx. This is also known as your Adam's Apple. Now, say the "z" sound, like in "buzz." Can you feel a vibration? That means it's a voiced sound! Now try saying the "s" sound, like in "hiss." You shouldn't feel any vibration. This simple trick helps you tell the difference between voiced and voiceless sounds.

Voiced and Voiceless Pairs in English

Many consonants in English come in pairs: one is voiced, and the other is voiceless. They are made in the same way in your mouth, but one uses vocal cord vibration and the other doesn't. Here are some common examples:

• [b] (as in ball or web) is a voiced sound. It's a bilabial stop, meaning you stop the air with both lips.
• [p] (as in pop or tap) is a voiceless sound. It's also a bilabial stop, but without vocal cord vibration.

• [d] (as in lad or dog) is a voiced sound. It's an alveolar stop, made by stopping air with your tongue just behind your front teeth.
• [t] (as in bat or toe) is a voiceless sound. It's also an alveolar stop, but without vocal cord vibration.

• [v] (as in vat or tavern) is a voiced sound. It's a labiodental fricative, made by letting air rub between your lower lip and upper teeth.
• [f] (as in laugh or fin) is a voiceless sound. It's also a labiodental fricative, but without vocal cord vibration.

These pairs show how small changes in how we use our vocal cords can create different sounds and words! Other languages also have many voiced and voiceless consonant pairs, sometimes even more than English.

See also

In Spanish: Voz (fonología) para niños