Voiceless Velar Stop

Here we have information about Voiceless Velar Stops. We will define what a Voiceless Velar Stop is, show you some examples of words that contain a Voiceless Velar Stop, and even provide audio recordings so that you can listen to these examples, solidifying your overall understanding of Voiceless Velar Stops.

Voiceless means that the vocal folds are not vibrating.

Velar refers to your soft palate, so velar sounds are produced when the back part of your tongue articulates with your soft palate. You can feel your soft palate with your tongue if you begin by placing your tongue on your hard palate. Trace it towards the back of your mouth and you should eventually feel a slight change in texture as your tongue hits the softer surface of your soft palate. It should feel like a “drop off,” except your soft palate is actually higher than your hard palate.

Stop means that there is a complete block of air when the sound is produced, so no air escapes.

Below we have listed some examples of words that contain a Voiceless Velar Stop. We have also included the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcription and the audio recording of each example for your convenience.

Car = [kaɹ]

Cabinet = [kæbɪnɛt]

More Information

American English IPA Consonants
Go here to view all of the American English IPA consonants in their sound classification chart.

Voiceless Glottal Stop
Go here to learn about the next sound classification category on our list.