u (in diphthongs ua/ue/ui/uo, e.g. agua, hueso, ruido, antiguo); also w in loanwords
/w/
- Language
- Spanish
- Unit
- Semiconsonantes
- IPA
- /w/
- Practice words
- 5
Sample pronunciation audio — Open the full phoneme overview
Start with one sample audio file for semiconsonantes - /w/.
Quick tip
Glide quickly from these sounds into the following vowel.
Letters and IPA
Practice words
-
agua
-
bueno
-
huevo
-
fuego
-
cuidado
Minimal pairs
- hueso / hueso/beso
- bueno / bueno/vano
- ruido / ruido/rido
- fuerte / fuerte/fértil
- cuota / cuota/cota
How to produce this sound
Round your lips slightly and glide quickly into the next vowel, like a very short English w.
Common mix-ups
- hueso / beso
- fuerte / fértil
- ruido / rido
- bueno / vano
- agua / haga
Closest comparison
water, quick, west, queen, twice
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