Consonant Affricate: j sound /ʤ/

Listen to the j sound

How to pronounce the j sound

The j sound is voiced (the vocal cords vibrate during its production), and is the counterpart to the unvoiced ch sound.

To create the j sound, air is briefly prevented from leaving the vocal tract when the tip of the tongue presses against the back tooth ridge while the sides of the tongue press against the upper side teeth. The sound is aspirated when the air is released with friction (similar to the friction of a zh sound).

ESL/ELL pronunciation students often find it helpful to think of the j sound as stopping the air similar to a d sound (but with the tongue a bit further back on the tooth ridge), and then releasing it with the friction of a zh sound.

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Common j sound spellings

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
j	jump juice eject		none
dg	budget bridge edge		none
g(+i)	giant logic imagine		g sound (girl)
g(+e)[1]	gentle agenda age		g sound (get)
d(+u)[2]	procedure educate schedule		d sound (reduce)

[1] g(+e) spelling
While the g sound is possible for the g+e spelling (as in the words get, geek, and gear), the j sound is a far more common pronunciation for this spelling.

[2] d(+u) spelling
While the j sound is possible for the d+u spelling, the d sound is a far more common pronunciation for this spelling (as in the words industry and reduce). The j sound can be most anticipated when the vowel sound preceding the d+u is stressed.

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The j sound in suffixes

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
-logy	trilogy apology mythology		none

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Non-phonetic j sound words

none

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Pronuncian Lessons

  

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