A voiced velar approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɰ⟩. In order to not imply that the approximant is spread as the vowel [ɯ] is, it may instead be transcribed ⟨ɣ̞⟩, ⟨ɣ᫛⟩, or ⟨ɣ˕⟩.

This consonant is absent from English, but may be approximated by making [ɡ] but with the tongue body lowered or [w] but with the lips apart. The voiced velar approximant can in many cases be considered the semivocalic counterpart of the close back unrounded vowel [ɯ]. ⟨ɰ⟩ and ⟨ɯ̯⟩ with the non-syllabic diacritic are used in different transcription systems to represent the same sound.

In some languages, such as Spanish, a voiced velar approximant is an allophone of /ɡ/ – see below.

The symbol for a velar approximant originates from ⟨ɯ⟩, but with a vertical line. Compare ⟨u⟩ and ⟨ɥ⟩ for the labio-palatal approximant.

Features of a voiced velar approximant:

Some languages have a velar approximant that is produced with the body of the tongue bunched up at the velum and simultaneous pharyngealization. This gives rise to a type of retroflex resonance that is indistinguishable from [ɻ]. The extension to the IPA recommends the use of the "centralized" diacritic, ⟨ɹ̈⟩, to distinguish the bunched realization from the apical articulation ⟨ɹ̺⟩. Typically, the diacritic is omitted, so that the sound is transcribed simply with ⟨ɹ⟩ or ⟨ɻ⟩ as if it were a coronal consonant.

In Dutch, this type of r is called Gooise r [ˌɣoːisə ˈʔɛr] 'Gooi r'. It is named after het Gooi, a region of the Netherlands where Hilversum (the main centre for television and radio broadcasting) is located.

Features of a voiced velar bunched approximant: