Very or Fery? Untangling Arabic's Missing V

Say 'very' and 'ferry'. If they sound almost the same in your English, you're likely using f for both, since Standard Arabic has no v sound to draw on. The difference is simple but important: v is voiced — your throat buzzes while you say it — while f is voiceless, just air with no buzz. Try this: put two fingers lightly on your throat and say 'ffff', then 'vvvv' — you should feel the buzz appear only on v. Practice minimal pairs like 'van/fan' and 'vine/fine', checking the buzz each time with your fingers. Spend two minutes doing this slowly before speeding up. Once your throat learns to switch the buzz on and off, v and f will separate naturally, and words like 'very', 'move', and 'live' will come out clearly instead of blending into their f-cousins.