What is a consonant?

Answer 1

Not a vowel like A E I O U, but a consonant, like Z.

A consonant is any letter that isn't a, e, i, o, or u (vowels). y is sometimes a consonant, depending on what the word is.

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The above is a good general answer. But exactly what is a vowel and what is a consonant can be a little tricky in some cases, like the letters W and Y. As a rule, you can think of vowels as being either 'plosive' [think explosion] like 'P' or 'T', 'fricative' [think friction] like 'F', and 'S', or liquid.

The plosive consonants make a little explosive sound, a little like popping. Try making just the sounds for P, T, K. Notice that you don't use your vocal chords when you make just the sounds of P, T, and K. Now say the words bop, dot, and gawk. The first consonant sounds in each word are just like the second consonant sounds, except that you 'voice' the first ones! B is just P, only with your voice added. Ditto D and T; G and K.

Fricative vowels are like F, S, and Th. V is just F with a voice, Z is S with a voice, and Th in 'the' and 'though' are Th with a voice.

The liquid vowels are like 'M', 'N', and 'L'. Try saying any of these without using your voice. If you figure out how, you will be famous.

We make consonants with many different parts of our mouths, from way up front (M) to lower in our throats (G and K). Usually, vowels are open vocalizations. They can occur at the beginnins or endings of words, and they often happen between consonants. We can move from one vowel sound to another, as in the word 'ea' in the word area.We can pronounce as many as 5 consonants in a row in some English words, but no more than 5. Can you find any of them?

Answer 2

Which one is a consonant?