Pronuncian Lessons
Consonant Fricative: zh sound /ʒ/
Listen to the zh sound
How to pronounce the zh sound
The zh sound is voiced, and is the counterpart to the unvoiced sh sound.
To create the zh sound, the front of the blade of the tongue is placed near the tooth ridge. The sides of the blade of the tongue may be against the side teeth, and air forced through the vocal tract during creation of the sound travels along the center of the tongue.
The lips are kept slightly tense, and may protrude somewhat during the production of the sound.
This sound is considered a continuous consonant, meaning that it should be capable of being held for a few seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire duration. Because the sound is a fricative, the majority of the sound comes from the friction of the air traveling through a small opening in the vocal tract.
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zh sound illustration |
Common zh sound spellings
Few consonant sounds seem to have as complicated of spelling patterns as the zh sound. Many non-native English speakers find it easier to memorize the words that are pronounced with this sound than to memorize the intricate spelling patterns that govern this sound. Since it is not a frequent sound in American English, the memorization method has merit.
NOTE: ge spelling
The ge spelling for the zh sound usually, but not exclusively, occurs the end of words. Also note that the j sound pronunciation of the ge (as in the words age and huge) is much more common than the zh sound.
The zh sound in suffixes
NOTE: The -sion suffix includes a zh sound when it is preceded by a vowel sound or r sound. Otherwise, the word will likely be pronounced with an sh sound (see the sh sound spelling and pronunication lesson for comparative sh sound examples).
The zh sound before suffixes
The -ure suffix and -al suffixes do not contain a zh sound within them. However, when these suffixes are preceded by the letter s or s+u, the letter s may be pronounced as a zh sound.
NOTE: s+ure spelling
In the s+ure spelling, the letter s is usually only pronounced as the zh sound when it is preceded by a vowel sound. If the s+ure spelling is preceded by a consonant sound, the word is more likely to be pronounced with an sh sound (see sh sound spelling and pronunciation lesson for comparative sh sound examples).
Non-phonetic zh sound words
The zh sound is underlined in the following words:
Other sounds to compare with the zh sound