science

List of consonants

List of consonants is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of consonants rather than just read about it. In short: This is a list of all the consonants which have a dedicated letter in the International Phonetic Alphabet, plus some of the consonants which require diacritics, ordered by place and manner of articulation. Ordered by place of articulation Labial consonants (articulated by using the lips) Bilabial consonants bilabial clicks e.g. [kʘ] bilabial nasal [m] (man) bilabial ejective [pʼ] voiced bilabial implosive [ɓ] voicel…

Key takeaways

List of consonants belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of consonants to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of consonants from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ordered by place of articulation

Labial consonants (articulated by using the lips)

Bilabial consonants bilabial clicks e.g. [kʘ] bilabial nasal [m] (man) bilabial ejective [pʼ] voiced bilabial implosive [ɓ] voiceless bilabial plosive [p] (spin) voiced bilabial plosive [b] (bed) voiceless bilabial affricate [pɸ] voiced bilabial affricate [bβ] voiceless bilabial fricative [ɸ] voiced bilabial fricative [β] bilabial approximant [β̞] bilabial trill [ʙ] bilabial percussive [ʬ]

Labiodental consonants labiodental approximant [ʋ] labiodental nasal [ɱ] (symphony) voiced labiodental fricative [v] (van) Voiced labiodental plosive [b̪] Voiced labiodental affricate [b̪v] voiceless labiodental fricative [f] (fan) voiceless rounded velarized labiodental fricative [ɧ] Voiceless labiodental plosive [p̪] Voiceless labiodental affricate [p̪f]

Bidental consonants voiceless bidental fricative [h̪͆]

Coronal consonants (articulated by using the tip of the tongue)

Dental consonants dental clicks e.g. [kǀ] dental lateral clicks e.g. [kǁ̪] dental ejective [t̪ʼ] dental nasal [n̪] voiced dental fricative [ð] (this) voiced dental implosive [ɗ̪] voiced dental plosive [d̪] voiceless bidental fricative voiceless dental fricative [θ] (thing) voiceless dental plosive [t̪] bidental percussive [ʭ]

Alveolar consonants alveolar lateral clicks e.g. [kǁ] alveolar approximant [ɹ] (red) alveolar ejective [tʼ] alveolar ejective fricative [sʼ] alveolar flap [ɾ] alveolar lateral approximant [l] (lead) alveolar lateral flap [ɺ] alveolar nasal [n] (none) alveolar trill [r] velarized alveolar lateral approximant [ɫ] voiced alveolar fricative [z] (zoo) voiced alveolar implosive [ɗ] voiced alveolar lateral fricative [ɮ] voiced alveolar plosive [d] (done) voiced alveolar affricate [d͡z] voiceless alveolar grooved fricative [s] (son) voiceless alveolar retroflex fricative [s̠] voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative [θ̠] voiceless alveolar lateral fricative [ɬ] voiceless alveolar plosive [t] (ton) voiceless alveolar affricate [t͡s] voiceless alveolar lateral affricate [t͡ɬ] ejective alveolar lateral affricate [t͡ɬʼ] voiced alveolar lateral affricate [d͡ɮ]

Postalveolar consonants (post)alveolar clicks e.g. [kǃ] voiced palato-alveolar affricate [dʒ] (jug) voiced palato-alveolar fricative [ʒ] (vision) voiceless palato-alveolar affricate [tʃ] (chip) voiceless palato-alveolar fricative [ʃ] (ship)

Palatalized postalveolar consonants voiced palatalized postalveolar fricative [ʑ] voiceless palatalized postalveolar fricative [ɕ] voiced palatalized postalveolar affricate [d͡ʑ] voiceless palatalized postalveolar affricate [t͡ɕ]

Retroflex consonants retroflex clicks e.g. [k𝼊 ] (commonly written ⟨[k‼]⟩) retroflex approximant [ɻ ] retroflex flap [ɽ] retroflex lateral flap [𝼈 ] retroflex lateral approximant [ɭ ] voiceless retroflex lateral fricative [ꞎ ] retroflex nasal [ɳ ] voiced retroflex fricative [ʐ ] voiced retroflex plosive [ɖ ] voiced retroflex affricate [d͜ʐ ] voiceless retroflex fricative [ʂ] voiceless retroflex plosive [ʈ] voiceless retroflex affricate [t͜ʂ],

Dorsal consonants (articulated with the middle of the tongue)

Palatal consonants palatal clicks e.g. [kǂ] palatal approximant [j] (yes) palatal ejective [cʼ] palatal lateral approximant [ʎ] voiceless palatal lateral fricative [𝼆] palatal nasal [ɲ] voiced palatal fricative [ʝ] voiced palatal implosive [ʄ] voiced palatal plosive [ɟ] voiceless palatal fricative [ç] (human, but not hum) voiceless palatal plosive [c] voiceless palatal lateral affricate [c͡𝼆] ejective palatal lateral affricate [c͡𝼆ʼ]

Labialized palatal consonants labialized palatal approximant [ɥ] [jʷ]

Velar consonants velar approximant [ɰ] velar ejective [kʼ] velar lateral approximant [ʟ] voiceless velar lateral fricative [𝼄] voiced velar fricative [ɣ] voiced velar implosive [ɠ ] voiced velar plosive [ɡ] (get) voiceless velar fricative [x] voiceless velar plosive [k] (kick, cat) ejective velar lateral affricate [k͡𝼄ʼ]

Labialized velar consonants voiced labialized velar approximant [w] (witch) voiceless labialized velar approximant [ʍ] (which, in some dialects)

Labial–velar consonants voiceless labial–velar plosive [kp] voiced labial–velar plosive [ɡb] labial-velar nasal [ŋm] voiceless labial-velar implosive [ɠ̊͜ɓ̥] voiced labial-velar implosive [ɠ͡ɓ]

Uvular consonants uvular ejective [qʼ] uvular nasal [ɴ] uvular trill [ʀ] voiced uvular fricative [ʁ] voiced uvular implosive [ʛ] voiced uvular plosive [ɢ] voiceless uvular fricative [χ] voiceless uvular plosive [q]

Labial–uvular consonants voiceless labial–uvular plosive [qp]

Laryngeal consonants (articulated with the throat)

Pharyngeal and epiglottal consonants pharyngeal plosive [ʡ] voiced upper-pharyngeal plosive [𝼂] voiceless upper-pharyngeal plosive [ꞯ] voiced pharyngeal fricative [ʕ] voiceless pharyngeal fricative [ħ] voiced pharyngeal trill [ʢ] voiceless pharyngeal trill [ʜ]

Uvular-epiglottal consonants voiceless uvular-epiglottal plosive [q͡ʡ]

Glottal consonants glottal plosive [ʔ] voiceless glottal affricate [ʔh] voiced glottal fricative [ɦ] voiceless glottal fricative [h] creaky-voiced glottal approximant [˷]

Ordered by manner of articulation Pulmonic consonants

Nasal (stop) consonants bilabial nasal [m] voiceless bilabial nasal [m̥] labiodental nasal [ɱ] dental nasal [n̪] alveolar nasal [n] voiceless alveolar nasal [n̥] retroflex nasal [ɳ ] voiceless retroflex nasal [ɳ̊ ] palatal nasal [ ɲ] voiceless palatal nasal [ ɲ̥] velar nasal [ŋ] voiceless velar nasal [ŋ̊] uvular nasal [ɴ]

Plosive (stop) consonants voiceless bilabial plosive [p] voiced bilabial plosive [b] voiceless dental plosive [t̪] voiced dental plosive [d̪] voiceless alveolar plosive [t] voiced alveolar plosive [d] voiceless retroflex plosive [ʈ] voiced retroflex plosive [ɖ] voiceless palatal plosive [c] voiced palatal plosive [ɟ] voiceless velar plosive [k] voiced velar plosive [ɡ] voiceless uvular plosive [q] voiced uvular plosive [ɢ] epiglottal plosive [ʡ] glottal plosive [ʔ]

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of consonants

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of consonants claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of consonants before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of consonants ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of consonants

In research: List of consonants appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of consonants in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of consonants is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Consonants, Linguistics lists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of consonants outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of consonants in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of consonants means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of consonants out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of consonants in simple terms?

This is a list of all the consonants which have a dedicated letter in the International Phonetic Alphabet, plus some of the consonants which require diacritics, ordered by place and manner of articulation. Ordered by place of articulation Labial consonants (articulated by using the lips) Bilabial c…

Why does List of consonants matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of consonants?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of consonants.