labials

Labials are a class of consonants produced with the lips. The term covers two primary places of articulation: bilabial sounds, made with both lips, and labiodental sounds, made with the lower lip and the upper teeth. In some descriptions, labial-velar consonants are also noted, because they involve simultaneous lip shaping and velar constriction; they are usually described as a combination of labial and velar features rather than as a single labial place.

Bilabial consonants are among the most common across languages. They include stops such as p and b, nasals such as m, and the approximant commonly written as w. Some languages also have rare bilabial fricatives or approximants (for example β or ɸ). Voicing contrasts are typical, as in p vs. b or m and w representing different manners of articulation.

Labiodental consonants are produced with the lower lip against the upper teeth. The most familiar labiodentals are the fricatives f (voiceless) and v (voiced). These sounds are widespread cross-linguistically and often appear as a language’s primary or only labial class, especially in systems that have few or no bilabials.

Labials interact with surrounding sounds through coarticulation and lip rounding, and they often figure prominently in phonological inventories and sound change. Their exact inventories vary by language, but the distinction between bilabial and labiodental remains a central organizing feature of consonant systems.