Approximant consonant

An approximant consonant is a consonant that sounds in some ways like a vowel. For example, lateral approximants like the sound for "l" in the English word "like", the sound for "r" in the English word "right", and semivowels like the sound for "y" in "yes" and the sound for "w" in "wet" are all approximants. These sounds are pronounced by bringing two parts of the mouth, for example the tongue and the roof of the mouth, close to each other. However, it is not close enough to cause the air to be blocked, like in a fricative consonant. Also, the parts are not far apart enough to become a vowel.

Semivowels
Semivowels are a type of approximant consonant, which sound like vowels if you pronounced them alone. However, many languages use them as consonants. Here are the common semivowels in the International Phonetic Alphabet. 

+Approximant-vowel correspondences Vowel CorrespondingApproximant Place of articulation Example     Palatal  Spanish amplío ('I extend') vs. ampliamos ('we extend')     Labiopalatal  French aigu ('sharp') vs. aiguille ('needle')     Velar  Korean 쓰다 ('wear something') vs. 씌우다 ('someone makes somebody wears something')     Labiovelar  Spanish actúo ('I act') vs. actuamos ('we act')     Retroflex American English waiter vs. waitress

Central approximants

bilabial approximant  (usually transcribed )
labiodental approximant 
dental approximant  (usually transcribed )
alveolar approximant 
retroflex approximant  (a consonantal )
palatal approximant  (a consonantal )
velar approximant  (a consonantal )
uvular approximant  (usually transcribed )
pharyngeal approximant  (a consonantal ; usually transcribed )
epiglottal approximant  (usually transcribed )

Lateral approximants
In lateral approximants, only the centre of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth. So, air can only flow through the sides of the tongue, like the sound "l" in "like".

voiced alveolar lateral approximant 
retroflex lateral approximant 
palatal lateral approximant 
velar lateral approximant 
velarized alveolar lateral approximant 

Coarticulated approximants with dedicated IPA symbols

voiced labialized velar approximant  (a consonantal )
voiceless labialized velar approximant (a consonantal )
labialized palatal approximant  (a consonantal )

 Notes 

Category:Consonants