The voiced labial–velar approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in certain spoken languages, including English.

It is the sound denoted by the letter ⟨w⟩ in the English alphabet;[1] likewise, the symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨w⟩, or rarely [ɰʷ], and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is w. In most languages it is the semivocalic counterpart of the close back rounded vowel [u].

The placement may have more to do with phonological criteria than phonetic ones.

[2] Some languages have a voiced labial–prevelar approximant,[a] which is more fronted than the place of articulation of the prototypical voiced labialized velar approximant, though not as front as the prototypical labialized palatal approximant.

Shaded areas denote articulations judged impossible.