The /ʒ/ Sound, Voiced Palato-Alveolar Fricative
/ʒ/
/ʒ/ is a voiced palato-alveolar fricative. To make it, the blade of the tongue rises towards the area between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate and the air is pushed through a narrow gap, which makes friction. It is voiced, so the vocal folds vibrate.
Often called the zh sound.
Example Words
| Word | UK | US | |
|---|---|---|---|
| vision | /ˈvɪʒ.ən/ | /ˈvɪʒ.ən/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| measure | /ˈmeʒ.ə/ | /ˈmeʒ.ɚ/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| beige | /beɪʒ/ | /beɪʒ/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
Distinctive Features
/ʒ/ is told apart from every other English sound by four distinctive features.
Allophones Of /ʒ/
/ʒ/ has 1 allophone in the app, starting with [ʒʷ], a consonant immediately before /w/ or a rounded vowel. The full list, where each occurs and the examples are in Allophones, which opens with any course or with Adroit Plus.
Words With The /ʒ/ Sound
/ʒ/ At The Start Of A Word
/ʒ/ In The Middle Of A Word
- azure
- usual
- casual
- fusion
- regime
- vision
- visual
- caesura
- closure
- elision
- erasure
- erosion
- leisure
- measure
- protege
- seizure
- unusual
- usually
- allusion
- casually
- casualty
- decision
- division
- equation
- exposure
- illusion
- incision
- infusion
- invasion
- lingerie
/ʒ/ At The End Of A Word
- beige
- rouge
- garage
- mirage
- barrage
- massage
- fuselage
- prestige
- sabotage
- arbitrage
- concierge
- entourage
- espionage
- camouflage
Questions Students Ask
Is /ʒ/ voiced or voiceless?
/ʒ/ is voiced.
What is the place of articulation of /ʒ/?
/ʒ/ is palato-alveolar, which means the blade of the tongue rises towards the area between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate.
What is the manner of articulation of /ʒ/?
/ʒ/ is a fricative, which means the air is pushed through a narrow gap, which makes friction.
Which words have the /ʒ/ sound?
For example vision, measure, beige.
Related Sounds
The /f/ Sound, Voiceless Labio-Dental FricativeThe /v/ Sound, Voiced Labio-Dental FricativeThe /θ/ Sound, Voiceless Dental FricativeThe /ð/ Sound, Voiced Dental FricativeThe /s/ Sound, Voiceless Alveolar FricativeThe /z/ Sound, Voiced Alveolar FricativeThe /ʃ/ Sound, Voiceless Palato-Alveolar FricativeThe /h/ Sound, Voiceless Glottal FricativeThe /tʃ/ Sound, Voiceless Palato-Alveolar AffricateThe /dʒ/ Sound, Voiced Palato-Alveolar Affricate