Approximant consonant

An approximant consonant is a consonant that sounds in some ways like a vowel. For example, lateral approximants like the sound for "l" in the English word "like", the sound for "r" in the English word "right", and semivowels like the sound for "y" in "yes" and the sound for "w" in "wet" are all approximants. These sounds are pronounced by bringing two parts of the mouth, for example the tongue and the roof of the mouth, close to each other. However, it is not close enough to cause the air to be blocked, like in a fricative consonant. Also, the parts are not far apart enough to become a vowel.

Semivowels

Semivowels are a type of approximant consonant, which sound like vowels if you pronounced them alone. However, many languages use them as consonants. Here are the common semivowels in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Approximant-vowel correspondences

Vowel	Corresponding Approximant	Place of articulation	Example
i	j	Palatal	Spanish amplío ('I extend') vs. ampliamos ('we extend')
y	ɥ	Labiopalatal	French aigu ('sharp') vs. aiguille ('needle')
ɯ	ɰ	Velar	Korean 쓰다 ('wear something') vs. 씌우다 ('someone makes somebody wears something')
u	w	Labiovelar	Spanish actúo ('I act') vs. actuamos ('we act')
ɚ	ɻ	Retroflex*	American English waiter vs. waitress

Central approximants

• bilabial approximant [β̞] (usually transcribed ‹β›)
• labiodental approximant [ʋ]
• dental approximant [ð̞] (usually transcribed ‹ð›)
• alveolar approximant [ɹ]
• retroflex approximant [ɻ] (a consonantal [ɚ])
• palatal approximant [j] (a consonantal [i])
• velar approximant [ɰ] (a consonantal [ɯ])
• uvular approximant [ʁ̞] (usually transcribed ‹ʁ›)
• pharyngeal approximant [ʕ̞] (a consonantal [ɑ]; usually transcribed ‹ʕ›)
• epiglottal approximant [ʢ̞] (usually transcribed ‹ʢ›)

Lateral approximants

In lateral approximants, only the centre of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth. So, air can only flow through the sides of the tongue, like the sound "l" in "like".

• voiced alveolar lateral approximant [l]
• retroflex lateral approximant [ɭ]
• palatal lateral approximant [ʎ]
• velar lateral approximant [ʟ]
• velarized alveolar lateral approximant [ɫ]

Coarticulated approximants with dedicated IPA symbols

• labialized palatal approximant [ɥ] (a consonantal [y])