V v — uve
«uve» is a consonant of Basque, the “Basque Latin alphabet” script, read as “b sound, loanwords only”. Native words never use v. For example, in the word “bideo” — video. The Basque alphabet has 32 letters in total. The real Basque "b" is the letter b. It appears, for example, in the word “suvenirra” — souvenir.
In short
| Character | V v |
| Name | uve |
| Sound | b sound, loanwords only |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 24th of 32: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are u and w.
How it sounds
Native words never use v
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- bideovideo
The character in the “for foreign words” group
Five letters native words never use: camera, kiwi, video, wifi, yoga. You need them only to read a sign with a borrowing on it.
Words with this character
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «uve» it is “b sound, loanwords only”, as in the word “bideo”), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 32 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Basque character v read?
As “b sound, loanwords only” — it is a consonant of the “Basque Latin alphabet” script. Native words never use v. For example, in the word “bideo” — video.
What is the letter v called?
Uve. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Basque script: it is called “uve” and reads as “b sound, loanwords only”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can v be confused with?
The real Basque "b" is the letter b. Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.