A voiced labiodental approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. It is something between an English /w/ and /v/, pronounced with the teeth and lips held in the position used to articulate the letter V. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ʋ⟩, a letter v with a leftward hook protruding from the upper right of the letter. In some sources, this letter indicates a bilabial approximant, though this is more accurately transcribed with an advanced diacritic, ⟨ʋ̟⟩.

A labiodental approximant is the typical realization of /v/ in the Indian South African variety of English. As the voiceless /f/ is also realized as an approximant ([ʋ̥]), it is also an example of a language contrasting voiceless and voiced labiodental approximants.

Features of a voiced labiodental approximant:

* Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but not enough to produce a turbulent airstream.

* Its place of articulation is labiodental, which means it is articulated with the lower lip and the upper teeth.

* Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.

* It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.

*Because the sound is not produced with airflow over the tongue, the median–lateral dichotomy does not apply.