Lesson 3: V vs F – The Lip Trick

If you can say “Fukuoka,” you can already pronounce F—and you're halfway to V!

The Trick:

• F: Blow air gently through your top teeth and bottom lip. Like blowing out a candle. “fffff…”
• V: Same shape, but add voice. Put your hand on your throat. Feel the vibration? “vvvvv…”

Why Japanese Learners Struggle

In traditional Japanese, the F sound came from deep in the mouth—almost like an H. But modern Japanese (thanks to words like “Fukuoka”) uses a clear F sound.

However, there’s no native “V” sound in Japanese. So many learners replace it with B—which is way off.

That’s why “Very” becomes “Berry,” and “Violin” becomes “Baiorin.” Let’s fix that—gently.

Rehabilitation Strategy:

At this stage, just substitute F for V. That’s it.

• Very → Feui
• Violin → Faiolin
• Favorite → Feifo-uit
• Value → Falyu

This is much closer than using B.

Practice Time

Say these slowly and feel your lips:

• Feui (Very)
• Faiolin (Violin)
• Feifo-uit (Favorite)
• Falyu (Value)
• Fictoui (Victory)
• Safaifau (Survival)

You’re not just practicing sounds—you’re training your mouth like a singer warming up.

Welcome to the world of voiced and voiceless sounds. You’re not just learning pronunciation—you’re joining the choir.

—Symeon