G

French consonant

The letter G has two pronunciations.

1) Soft (in front of E, I, or Y) – pronounced like the g in "massage," identical to the French J. Phonetic symbol: [ʒ]

Par exemple…

2) Hard (in front of A, O, U, or a consonant) – pronounced like the g in "gold." Phonetic symbol: [g]

Par exemple…

 À noter

• When G precedes a soft vowel but needs a hard pronunciation, U is added to make it hard.
• When G precedes a hard vowel but needs a soft pronunciation, as for spelling change verbs, E is added to make it soft.

See vowel lesson "Effect on consonants: hard vs soft" for more info.

 Related lessons

• Letter combinations: GN | NG
• Introduction to consonants
• Introduction to vowels
• French alphabet
• Spelling change verbs
   

 En español

• La letra g
   

 In italiano

• La lettera g
   

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