W:V

• {{langx|ca|ve}} ({{IPA|ca|ˈve|pron}}); in dialects that lack contrast between {{IPA|/v/}} and {{IPA|/b/}}, the letter is called {{lang|ca|ve baixa}} {{IPA|ca|ˈbe ˈbajʃə|}}, "low B/V".
• {{langx|cs|vé}} {{IPA|cs|'vɛː|}}
• {{langx|fr|vé}} {{IPA|fr|'ve|}}
• {{langx|de|Vau}} {{IPA|de|ˈfaʊ|}}
• {{langx|it|vi}} {{IPA|it|ˈvi|}} or {{lang|it|vu}} {{IPA|it|ˈvu|}}
• Japanese: {{vr|v}} is called a variety of names originating in English, most commonly {{lang|ja|ブイ}} {{IPA|ja|bɯi|}} or {{IPA|ja|bui|}}, but less nativized variants, violating to an extent the phonotactics of Japanese, of {{lang|ja|ヴィ}}ー {{IPA|ja|viː|}}, {{lang|ja|ヴイ}} {{IPA|ja|vɯi|}} or {{IPA|ja|vui|}}, and {{lang|ja|ヴィ}} {{IPA|ja|vi|}} are also used. The phoneme {{IPA|/v/}} in Japanese is used properly only in loanwords, where the preference for either {{IPA|/v/}} or {{IPA|/b/}} depends on many factors; in general, words that are perceived to be in common use tend toward {{IPA|/b/}}.
• {{langx|pl|fał}} {{IPA|pl|'faw|}}
• {{langx|pt|vê}} {{IPA|pt|ˈve|}}
• {{langx|es|uve}} {{IPA|es|ˈuβe|}} is recommended, but {{lang|es|ve}} {{IPA|es|ˈbe|}} is traditional. If {{vr|v}} is referred to as the latter, it would have the same pronunciation as the letter {{vr|b}} in Spanish (i.e. {{IPA|es|ˈbe|}} after pause or nasal sound, otherwise {{IPA|es|ˈβe|}});{{cite book |title=La tribuna del idioma |last=Díez Losada |first=Fernando |year=2004 |publisher=Editorial Tecnologica de CR |language=es |isbn= 978-9977-66-161-2 |page=176 }} thus further terms are needed to distinguish {{lang|es|ve}} from {{lang|es|be}}. In some countries it is called {{lang|es|ve corta}}, {{lang|es|ve baja}}, {{lang|es|ve pequeña}}, {{lang|es|ve chica}} or {{lang|es|ve labiodental}}.

==History==

The letter {{vr|v}} ultimately comes from the Phoenician letter waw by way of {{vr|u}}.

During the Late Middle Ages, two minuscule glyphs of U developed which were both used for sounds including {{IPA|/u/}} and modern {{IPA|/v/}}. The pointed form {{vr|v}} was written at the beginning of a word, while a rounded form {{vr|u}} was used in the middle or end, regardless of sound. So whereas valour and excuse appeared as in modern printing, have and upon were printed as "haue" and "vpon". The first distinction between the letters {{vr|v}} and {{vr|u}} is recorded in a Gothic script from 1386, where {{vr|v}} preceded {{vr|u}}. By the mid-16th century, the {{vr|v}} form was used to represent the consonant and {{vr|u}} the vowel sound, giving us the modern letter {{vr|v}}. {{vr|u}} and {{vr|v}} were not accepted as distinct letters until many years later.{{cite book |last1=Pflughaupt |first1=Laurent |others=trans. Gregory Bruhn |title=Letter by Letter: An Alphabetical Miscellany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63Qnbt2CMiMC&pg=PA124 |access-date=2009-06-21 |year=2008 |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |isbn=978-1-56898-737-8 |pages=123–124 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510104124/http://books.google.com/books?id=63Qnbt2CMiMC&pg=PA124 |archive-date=2013-05-10 |url-status=live }} The rounded variant became the modern-day version of {{vr|u}}, and the letter's former pointed form became {{vr|v}}.

In English, {{vr|v}} represents a voiced labiodental fricative.

Special rules of orthography normally apply to the letter {{vr|v}}:

• Traditionally, {{vr|v}} is not doubled to indicate a short vowel, the way, for example, {{vr|p}} is doubled to indicate the difference between super and supper. However, that is changing with newly coined words, such as {{wikt-lang|en|savvy}}, divvy up and skivvies.
• A word-final {{IPAc-en|v|}} sound (except in of) is normally spelled -{{vr|ve}}, regardless of the pronunciation of the vowel before it. This rule does not apply to transliterations of Slavic and Hebrew words, such as Kyiv (Kiev), or to words that started out as abbreviations, such as sov for sovereign.
• The {{IPAc-en|V|}} sound is spelled {{vr|o}}, not {{vr|u}}, before the letter {{vr|v}}. This originated with a mediaeval scribal practice designed to increase legibility by avoiding too many vertical strokes (minims) in a row.

Like {{vr|j}}, {{vr|k}}, {{vr|w}}, {{vr|x}} and {{vr|z}}, {{vr|v}} is not used very frequently in English. It is the sixth least frequently used letter in the English language, occurring in roughly 1% of words. {{vr|v}} is the only letter that cannot be used to form an English two-letter word in the BritishCollins Scrabble Dictionary Revised 6th edition (2022) Harper Collins {{ISBN|978 00085 2391 6}} and Australian{{cite web|title=2-Letter Words with Definitions|url=http://www.scrabble.org.au/words/twos.htm|publisher=Australian Scrabble Players Association (ASPA)|access-date=20 February 2013|date=8 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305065759/http://www.scrabble.org.au/words/twos.htm|archive-date=5 March 2013|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} versions of the game of Scrabble. It is one of only two letters (the other being {{vr|c}}) that cannot be used this way in the American version.{{cite web|author=Hasbro staff |year=2014 |url=http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble/en_US/2LetterList.cfm |title=Scrabble word lists:2-Letter Words |publisher=Hasbro |access-date=11 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407014234/http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble/en_US/2LetterList.cfm |archive-date=2014-04-07 }}Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 6th Edition (2018) Merriam Webster {{ISBN|978 08777 9422 6}} {{vr|v}} is also the only letter in the English language that is never silent.{{cite news|title=Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/mums-the-letter-when-letters-dont-say-a-thing/v|access-date=5 March 2023|archive-date=5 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305065324/https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/mums-the-letter-when-letters-dont-say-a-thing/v|url-status=live}}

The letter represents {{IPAslink|v}} in several Romance languages, but in others it represents the same sound as {{vr|b}}, i.e. {{IPAslink|b}}, due to a process known as betacism. Betacism occurs in most dialects of Spanish, in some dialects of Catalan and Portuguese, as well as in Aragonese, Asturleonese and Galician.

In Spanish, the phoneme has two main allophones; in most environments, it is pronounced {{IPA|{{IPAblink|β̞}}|lang=es}}, but after a pause or a nasal it is typically {{IPAblink|b|lang=es}}. See Allophones of /b d g/ in Spanish phonology for a more thorough discussion.

In Corsican, {{vr|v}} represents {{IPAblink|b}}, {{IPAblink|v}}, {{IPAblink|β}} or {{IPAblink|w}}, depending on the position in the word and the sentence.

File:Newes ABC Buchlein MET DP855605.jpg or early Baroque design of {{vr|v}}, from 1627]]

In most languages that use the Latin alphabet, {{vr|v}} represents a voiced bilabial or labiodental sound.

In contemporary German, it represents {{IPAslink|v}} in most loanwords, while in native German words, it always represents {{IPAslink|f}}.

In standard Dutch, it traditionally represents {{IPAslink|v}}, but in many regions, it represents {{IPAslink|f}} in some or all positions.

In the Latinization of the Cherokee syllabary, {{vr|v}} represents a nasalized schwa, {{IPAslink|ə̃}}.

In Chinese pinyin, while {{IPA|v}} is not used, the letter {{vr|v}} is used by most input methods to enter the letter {{vr|ü}}, which most keyboards lack (romanized-input Chinese is a popular method to enter Chinese text). Informal romanizations of Mandarin Chinese use {{vr|v}} as a substitute for the close front rounded vowel /y/, properly written {{vr|ü}} in both pinyin and Wade–Giles.

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, {{angbr IPA|v}} represents the voiced labiodental fricative.

{{main article|V (disambiguation)}}

• V is used to represent the Roman numeral 5.
• V is the symbol for vanadium. It is number 23 on the periodic table. Emerald derives its green coloring from either vanadium or chromium.
• v, v., and vs can also be used as an abbreviation for the word versus when between two or more competing items (e.g. Brown v. Board of Education).

• U u : Latin letter {{vr|u}}, originally the same letter as {{vr|v}}
• W w : Latin letter {{vr|w}}, descended from {{vr|u}}
• Ỽ ỽ : Ỽ
• {{vr|v}} with diacritics: Ṽ ṽ Ṿ ṿ Ʋ ʋ ᶌ{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2004/04132-n2740-phonetic.pdf|title=L2/04-132 Proposal to add additional phonetic characters to the UCS|date=2004-04-19|first=Peter|last=Constable|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011014355/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2004/04132-n2740-phonetic.pdf|archive-date=2017-10-11|url-status=live}}
• IPA-specific symbols related to {{vr|v}}: {{IPA link|ⱱ}} {{IPA link|ʋ}}
• {{not a typo|ᶹ}} : Modifier letter small {{vr|v}} with hook is used in phonetic transcription
• {{not a typo|𐞰}} : Modifier letter small {{vr|v}} with right hook is a superscript IPA letter{{Cite web|title=L2/20-252R: Unicode request for IPA modifier-letters (a), pulmonic|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20252r-mod-ipa-a.pdf|date=2020-11-08|first1=Kirk|last1=Miller|first2=Michael|last2=Ashby|access-date=2022-10-13|archive-date=2021-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730010133/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20252r-mod-ipa-a.pdf|url-status=live}}
• Ʌ ʌ ᶺ: Turned v
• ⱴ : V with curl
• Uralic Phonetic Alphabet-specific symbols related to {{vr|v}}:{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02141-n2419-uralic-phonetic.pdf|title=L2/02-141: Uralic Phonetic Alphabet characters for the UCS|date=2002-03-20|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|author-link1=Michael Everson|display-authors=etal|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219081033/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02141-n2419-uralic-phonetic.pdf|archive-date=2018-02-19|url-status=live}}
• {{Unichar|1D20|LATIN LETTER SMALL CAPITAL V}}
• {{Unichar|1D5B|MODIFIER LETTER SMALL V}}
• {{Unichar|1D65|LATIN SUBSCRIPT SMALL LETTER V}}
• {{Unichar|2C7D|MODIFIER LETTER CAPITAL V}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06215-n3070.pdf|title=L2/06-215: Proposal for Encoding 3 Additional Characters of the Uralic Phonetic Alphabet|date=2006-04-07|first1=Klaas|last1=Ruppel|first2=Jack|last2=Rueter|first3=Erkki I.|last3=Kolehmainen|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706090340/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06215-n3070.pdf|archive-date=2017-07-06|url-status=live}}

File:Corinthian Vase depicting Perseus, Andromeda and Ketos.jpgian vase depicting Perseus, Andromeda and Ketos. The inscriptions denoting the depicted persons are written in an archaic form of the Greek alphabet. Perseus (classical ΠΕΡΣΕΥΣ) is inscribed as {{vr|ϺVBϺΡBΠ}} (from right to left), using {{vr|V}} to represent the vowel {{IPA|[u]}}. San ({{vr|Ϻ}}) is used instead of Sigma ({{vr|Σ}}).]]

• 𐤅: Semitic letter Waw, from which the following symbols originally derive:
• Υ υ : Greek letter Upsilon, from which {{vr|v}} derives
• Y y : Latin letter {{vr|y}}, which, like {{vr|v}}, also derives from Upsilon (but was taken into the alphabet at a later date)
• Ѵ ѵ : Cyrillic letter izhitsa, also descended from Upsilon
• У у : Cyrillic letter {{vr|u}}, also descended from Upsilon via the digraph of omicron and upsilon
• Ү ү : Cyrillic letter {{vr|Ү}}, descended from {{vr|У}} and izhitsa, is used in the scripts for languages in the former Soviet Union and currently the Russian Federation, as well as in Mongolian. Most commonly, it represents {{IPA|/y/}} or {{IPA|/ʏ/}}.

• ℣ : Versicle sign{{cite news|url=http://www.romanliturgy.org/?p=144|title=Roman Liturgy Fonts containing the response and versicle characters – Roman Liturgy|newspaper=Roman Liturgy|date=7 September 2011|access-date=2016-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723025939/http://www.romanliturgy.org/?p=144|archive-date=2016-07-23|url-status=live}}
• Ꝟ ꝟ : Forms of {{vr|v}} were used for medieval scribal abbreviations{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06027-n3027-medieval.pdf|title=L2/06-027: Proposal to add Medievalist characters to the UCS|date=2006-01-30|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|first2=Peter|last2=Baker|first3=António|last3=Emiliano|first4=Florian|last4=Grammel|first5=Odd Einar|last5=Haugen|first6=Diana|last6=Luft|first7=Susana|last7=Pedro|first8=Gerd|last8=Schumacher|first9=Andreas|last9=Stötzner|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919051622/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06027-n3027-medieval.pdf|archive-date=2018-09-19|url-status=live}}

{{charmap

| 0056 | 0076 | FF36 | FF56 | name1 = Latin Capital Letter V | name2 = Latin Small Letter V | name3 = FULLWIDTH LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V | name4 = FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER V

| map1 = EBCDIC family | map1char1 = E5 | map1char2 = A5

| map2 = ASCII{{efn|Also for encodings based on ASCII, including the DOS, Windows, ISO-8859 and Macintosh families of encodings.}} | map2char1 = 56 | map2char2 = 76

}}

{{Letter other reps

|NATO=Victor

|Morse=···–

|Character=V

|Braille=⠧

|fingerspelling=V

}}

{{clear}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Commons-inline|V}}
• {{Wiktionary-inline|V}}
• {{Wiktionary-inline|v}}

{{Latin alphabet|V|}}

Category:ISO basic Latin letters