/f/

The /f/: bottom lip against the top teeth

The /f/ is made by resting your bottom lip gently on your top teeth and letting air out. It's voiceless, and it's practically identical to the Spanish one, so you arrive with this sound already made. What matters is not losing it when a /v/ follows.

How it's made

• 👄 Mouth: bottom lip touching the top teeth, without pressing.
• 👅 Tongue: free — it plays no part.
• 🔊 Voice: voiceless — just air escaping between lip and teeth.

You hear it in: fish · phone · coffee · life · before

⚠️ The typical Spanish-speaker mistake: not quite reaching the teeth and blowing between both lips instead, which comes out closer to a soft h than to an /f/.

By the end you'll be able to: place the lip precisely and keep the /f/ clear at the end of a word too.