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Consonant
ZH
The ZH sound is a voiced postalveolar fricative, the voiced counterpart to the SH sound (/ʃ/). It is made in the same mouth position as SH, but with vocal cord vibration.
Phonetic
ʒVoicing
VoicedPlace of Articulation
Post-alveolarManner of Articulation
FricativeMouth Position
Round your lips slightly. Raise the blade (the part just behind the tip) of your tongue towards the roof of your mouth, just behind the alveolar ridge (the bump behind your upper teeth). Don't let your tongue tip touch the ridge. Keep the sides of your tongue touching the upper side teeth. Push air out through the channel created, while vibrating your vocal cords.
How to Make This Sound
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Example Words
visionMain Example
/ˈvɪʒən/measure
/ˈmɛʒər/pleasure
/ˈplɛʒər/usual
/ˈjuːʒuəl/garage
/ɡəˈrɑːʒ/ or /ˈɡærɪdʒ/beige
/beɪʒ/leisure
/ˈliːʒər/ or /ˈlɛʒər/Pronunciation Practice
8 words
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Quick Practice
3-5 essential words
Full Practice
All 8 words
Minimal Pairs
Listen and compare similar sounds
ʒ
measure
/ˈmɛʒər/Compare with
M
messer
/ˈmɛsər/ʒ
vision
/ˈvɪʒən/Compare with
V
vission
/ˈvɪʃən/ʒ
azure
/ˈæʒər/Compare with
A
asher
/ˈæʃər/ʒ
leisure
/ˈliːʒər/Compare with
L
leecher
/ˈliːtʃər/Tongue Twister
Practice: Consonant
“The beige garage door's measure is usually a pleasure to view.”
Practice this tongue twister to improve your pronunciation