The voiceless labiodental fricative is a type of consonant. The letter for this sound in the International Phonetic Alphabet is ⟨f⟩. The X-SAMPA symbol for this sound is ⟨f⟩. The English language has this sound, and it is the sound represented by 'f' in fear and face.
The airstream mechanism is pulmonic. This means that this sound is produced by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.
The phonation is voiceless. This means that this sound is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is fricative. This means that this sound is produced by constricting air flow through a narrow channel at the place of articulation, to make turbulence.
[tfə] (help·info)