Decoding the letter V

The letter V, lowercase v (pronounced /viː/) very reliably represents IPA phoneme /v/. For examples see IPA phoneme /v/.

Most words ending in /v/ end in "ve".
 * believe - give - have - improve - leave - love - move - receive - serve

Very few words end in "v"
 * mazeltov - perv

Very few words have "vv"
 * savvy

/v/ devoicing
/v/ can be changed to /f/ in the modal verb have to (meaning “must”) pronounced /ˈhæv tə/ or /ˈhæf tə/.