American English sound
/ɡ/: how to pronounce the hard “g” in go, again and bag
/ɡ/ is the “hard g” of go, again and bag: the back of the tongue closes against the soft palate, with your voice on. It's the voiced partner of /k/.
The letter g also spells the “soft g” /dʒ/ of gem and giant, mostly before e, i and y. Knowing which is which is half the work.
/ɡ/
the “g” sound
How to make the sound
- 1Raise the back of your tongue against the soft palate.
- 2Turn your voice on before you release: you should feel a buzz.
- 3Release without a big puff of air.
- 4At the end of a word, keep the voice through the closure: bag is not back.
- Tongue
- back-velar
- Lips
- neutral
- Voice
- voiced
Hear it in words
Tap a word to hear it.
At the start
In the middle
At the end
How it's spelled
- g before a, o, u or a consonant: go, game, great
- gg / gu / gh: bigger, guess, ghost
- hard g before e / i (exceptions): get, give, girl
Common mistakes
Losing the voice at the end: “back” for bag
German, Russian and Turkish speakers often devoice final g. Keep the buzz and lengthen the vowel.
Using the soft g
Get, give, girl and begin have a hard g even before e and i. Don't say “jet” for get.
Adding an n sound: “sing-g”
In sing and long there's no /ɡ/ at all; see the ng sound.
Minimal pairs
Each pair differs by one sound. If both words sound the same when you say them, practice this pair.
Try it
“Greg gave the girl a big bag of grapes.”
Record a sentence and get a score for every sound, /ɡ/ included. Free, no account.
Questions
How do I know if g is hard or soft?
Before a, o, u or a consonant it's hard: go, game, grow. Before e, i or y it's usually soft: gem, giant, gym. But many common words break the rule: get, give, girl, begin, together.
Is the g in sing pronounced?
No: ng in sing, long and thing is a single sound, /ŋ/. Only words like finger and longer add a /ɡ/.