Lessons Unit 3, lesson 8
b + vowels
The b beginning opening into every vowel it starts words with. Get the mouth ready for b, release straight into the vowel — no gap, no extra sound between them.
What do the marks mean?
Want the full walkthrough? Read the map explains every mark, with practice.
bb as in bed
Exactly like p — lips press and pop — but switch your voice on. Put a hand on your throat: b buzzes, p doesn't.
b + every vowel
One row per combination. Tap any word to hear it — every sheet comes straight from the tool.
| b æ | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| b ɪ | |||
| b ɛ | |||
| b ʌ | |||
| b ʊ | |||
| b ɑ | |||
| b iː | |||
| b uː | |||
| b ɔː | |||
| b eɪ | |||
| b aɪ | |||
| b ɔɪ | |||
| b aʊ | |||
| b oʊ | |||
| b ɝ |
Voice on, otherwise identical to p
B and p share the same lip-closing, lip-popping gesture; the only difference is that your voice switches on for b. Put a hand on your throat while saying bed, bad, and but — you should feel a buzz start right before the lips open, not after.
Rounding at the lips
Before uː, as in boost, boots, and boom, your lips round forward while they're still sealed shut, so the closure and the rounding happen at the same time. The ɝ words — birth, bird, burn — need the lips to relax and the tongue to pull back right after release, with no b-like plosive lingering.
Drill a column by reading it aloud, then reading it again with your hand on your throat, confirming the voicing starts early and stays on all the way through the vowel.