The /m/ Sound, Voiced Bilabial Nasal
/m/
/m/ is a voiced bilabial nasal. To make it, both lips come together and the soft palate is lowered, so the air flows out through the nose. It is voiced, so the vocal folds vibrate.
Example Words
| Word | UK | US | |
|---|---|---|---|
| man | /mæn/ | /mæn/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| lemon | /ˈlem.ən/ | /ˈlem.ən/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| room | /ruːm/ | /ruːm/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
Distinctive Features
/m/ is told apart from every other English sound by two distinctive features.
Allophones Of /m/
/m/ has 4 allophones in the app, starting with [m], before a vowel (plain nasal). The full list, where each occurs and the examples are in Allophones, which opens with any course or with Adroit Plus.
Words With The /m/ Sound
/m/ At The Start Of A Word
- mad
- man
- map
- mat
- may
- men
- met
- mix
- mob
- mop
- mud
- mug
- mace
- made
- magi
- maim
- main
- make
- male
- mall
- many
- mare
- mark
- mash
- mask
- mass
- mast
- mate
- maul
/m/ In The Middle Of A Word
- alms
- amen
- amid
- army
- bump
- camp
- damp
- dump
- emir
- emit
- gums
- hemp
- hump
- imam
- jump
- lamp
- limp
- lump
- omen
- omit
- pimp
- pomp
- pump
- ramp
- romp
- admit
- amass
- amaze
- amber
- amble
/m/ At The End Of A Word
- aim
- arm
- dim
- gem
- gum
- gym
- ham
- hmm
- jam
- ram
- rim
- sum
- yam
- atom
- balm
- bomb
- calm
- came
- comb
- come
- damn
- deem
- doom
- drum
- dumb
- exam
- fame
- farm
- film
- firm
Minimal Pairs
Questions Students Ask
Is /m/ voiced or voiceless?
/m/ is voiced.
What is the place of articulation of /m/?
/m/ is bilabial, which means both lips come together.
What is the manner of articulation of /m/?
/m/ is a nasal, which means the soft palate is lowered, so the air flows out through the nose.
Which words have the /m/ sound?
For example man, lemon, room.