Graphemes for /w/ and Related Phonemes
Bilabials
Section titled “Bilabials”/w/ - bilabial approximant
| Writing System | Grapheme | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| apd-Latn | <w> | walad ‘boy’ | |
| ar-Arab | <و> | صورته ‘his picture’ | |
| bcy-Latn | <w> | ware ‘beans’ | |
| bec-Latn | <w> | wanɛ ‘child’, ɛwa ‘dog’, ɛzɔw ‘mushroom’ | |
| blt-Tavt | <ꪫ> | ꪵꪫ꪿ꪫ ‘chipped’ | final consonant - realized phonetically as a high close back rounded vowel |
| dv-Thaa | <ޥ> | ޥަޙީދު | Only used for foreign words, a letter devised to transliterate Arabic ‹و› but rarely used, Thaana ‹ވ› being usually used instead. |
| en-Latn | <wh> | when | /hw/ is merging with /w/ in most American dialects. When differentiated, the sound may be closer to [ʍ]. |
| en-Latn | <w> | water | |
| es-Latn | <w> | sandwich ‘sandwich’, web ‘Internet’ | Loan words |
| fub-Arab | <و> | وٛلْدٜ ‘word’, جَوْدِ ‘wealth’, مِࢩَوِ ‘I am sick’, مِوَاوِ ‘I can (able)’ | |
| fub-Latn | <w> | wolde ‘word’, jawdi ‘wealth’, mi nyawi ‘I am sick’, mi waawi ‘I can (able)’ | |
| ha-Latn | <w> | wuƙa ‘knife’ | |
| id-Latn | <w> | wajar ‘appropriate’ | |
| nat-Latn | <w> | waa ‘arm’, ya̱wa̱ ‘frog’ | |
| ne-Deva | <व> | वकिल ‘advocate | |
| png-Latn | <w> | wa, wa̱ta̱ku | |
| srr-Arab | <و> | وَاگْ ‘to be able’ | |
| srr-Latn | <w> | waag ‘to be able’ | |
| wo-Arab | <و> | وࣷو ‘to call’ | |
| wo-Latn | <w> | woo ‘to call’ | |
| xnz-Copt | <ⲟⲩ> | ||
| xnz-Copt | <ⲱ> | ⲟⲩⲱⲱⲓ | Used when /w/ occurs next to /u/ |
| xnz-Copt | <ⳣ> | Obsolete; used when /w/ occurs next to /u/ | |
| xnz-Latn | <w> | ||
| yba-Latn | <w> | wɔwu |
/ᵐw/ - prenasalized bilabial approximant
| Writing System | Grapheme | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| bec-Latn | <ŋw> | ŋwaghɛ ‘roast’, aŋwa ‘cat’ |
/wː/ - geminate bilabial approximant
| Writing System | Grapheme | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ar-Arab | <و◌ّ> | ملوّن ‘coloured’ | |
| fub-Arab | <و◌ّ> | حَوَّ | |
| wo-Arab | <و◌ّ> | فࣵوّ ‘must (Fr. = Il faut…)’ | |
| wo-Latn | <ww> | fàww ‘must (Fr. = Il faut…)’ |
Sequences including /w/ - bilabial approximant
| Writing System | Phoneme Sequence | Grapheme | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ast-Latn | /gw/ | <gü> | güe ‘ox’ | |
| blt-Tavt | /aw/ | <ꪹꪱ> | ꪹꪔ꪿ꪱ ‘turtle’ | ligature: short /a/ + /w/ |
| blt-Tavt | /əw/ | <ꪻ> | ꪻꪄ꪿ ‘dry’, ꪻꪠ ‘who’ | ligature: /ə/ + /w/ - realized phonetically as [əɨ] |
| es-Latn | /kw/ | <gü> | lingüístico ‘linguistic’ |