In English the letter B has one pronunciation, or it can be silent. When the B is silent it is always preceded by the letter M.

Click on the sample words to listen to the sound files. Pay attention to the sound of the letters in bold.

Letter	IPA	Examples
b	b	book (bk)	noble (nbl)	web (wb)
	(silent)		combing (kmIŋ)	lamb (lm)
			climber (klm)	thumb (m)

Note: There are many words with the letter combination mb where the B is not silent.

Examples
December (dismb)	humble (hmbl)	ambiguous (mbIgjus)

IPA stands for International Phonetic Alphabet. Learn more about phonetics and the IPA.

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