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How are voiceless sounds such as f and s produced?

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Diagram of a human head in profile showing the location of vocal organs and possible places of articulation for speech sounds, with labels for lips, teeth, tongue, palate, uvula, pharynx, and vocal cords, and numbered regions corresponding to types of articulation such as bilabial, alveolar, and velar.
pronunciation Diagram depicting the location of human vocal organs and possible places of articulation used for speech.

Voiceless sounds such as f and s are produced by expelling air from the lungs through the vocal tract without the vibration of the vocal cords.12

In the production of these sounds, the vocal cords are held apart, allowing air to pass through the glottis freely without creating the periodic vibrations that characterize voiced sounds. Specifically, f and s are classified as fricatives, which are produced by narrowing the vocal tract at a specific point of articulationā€”such as between the lips and teeth for f or the tongue and alveolar ridge for sā€”to create a restricted passage. As air is forced through this narrow opening, it generates audible friction or noise.1234

Because the vocal cords remain inactive during this process, the resulting sound is considered voiceless, distinguishing it from voiced counterparts like v and z, which are formed with the same articulatory positions but include vocal cord vibration.24