A lateral flap is a family of consonantal sounds, used in some spoken languages.

There are four attested or claimed lateral flaps in the world's languages:

• The alveolar lateral flap is quite common.

• A retroflex lateral flap () is found throughout South Asia, from Pashtun to Oriya, in the Iwaidjan languages of Australia, and sporadically elsewhere.

• A palatal lateral flap has been described from Iwaidja, but the authors note that it may be a palatalized alveolar flap .

• A velar lateral flap occurs allophonically in Melpa and a few other languages of New Guinea.

Features

Features of lateral flap: