Alveolar consonant

Alveolars are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, the internal side of the upper gums (known as the alveoles of the upper teeth).

The alveolar consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:

IPA Symbol	Name	Example		Meaning
t	Voiceless alveolar plosive	English	[tʰæp]	tap
d	Voiced alveolar plosive	English	[dɛt]	debt
n	Alveolar nasal	English	[ɹʌn]	run
r	Alveolar trill	Spanish	[pero]	perro (="dog")
ɾ	Alveolar flap	Spanish	[peɾo]	pero (="but")
s	Voiceless alveolar fricative	English	[sut]	suit
z	Voiced alveolar fricative	English	[zu]	zoo
ɬ	Voiceless alveolar lateral fricative	Mishnaic Hebrew	[ɬiːn̪]	שׂין śîn
ɮ	Voiced alveolar lateral fricative	Mishnaic Hebrew	[ˈɮɔː.mɛð]	למד lāmedh
ɹ	Alveolar approximant	English	[ɹu]	rue
l	Alveolar lateral approximant	English	[lup]	loop

See also

• place of articulation
• List of phonetics topics