The letter G is one of the most difficult letters to master and pronounce like a Spanish native speaker, since we have 3 different sounds for this letter and, in most of the cases, the Spanish G sounds different from the English G.
In English, it exists only one out of the 3 sounds that we use in Spanish, and it’s the less common sound: [g].
Today you’ll see:
- The 3 ways to say the letter G in Spanish.
- How to pronounce each of the 3 sounds.
- When to use each pronunciation.
- Examples of words for each sound of Spanish G.
This is what you'll find in this post
- GUTURAL G (ge, gi)
- IPA symbol
- How do I say the GUTURAL G?
- Tips to pronounce GUTURAL G
- When should I pronounce the letter G as GUTURAL G?
- Examples of words with GUTURAL G
- Regular G (or Stopping) and Soft G (or Airy)
- 1. STOPPING G (beginning or -ng-)
- IPA symbol
- The sound of the STOPPING G
- Tips to say the STOPPING G like a Spanish native
- When should I pronounce the letter G as a STOPPING G?
- Examples in Spanish with the STOPPING G sound
- 2. AIRY G (in the middle)
- IPA symbol
- The sound of the AIRY G
- Tips to pronounce AIRY G and differences with SOFT G
- When should I pronounce the letter G as AIRY G?
- Examples in Spanish with AIRY G sound
- 1. STOPPING G (beginning or -ng-)
- In short: Pronunciation of the letter G
GUTURAL G (ge, gi)
IPA symbol
[X]
How do I say the GUTURAL G?
Spanish natives pronounce the letter G like the letter J in Spanish. The sound is close to the English H but raspier.
It sounds similar to the Scottish “loch” or the German “ch” in “Bach”.
The picture below shows where the Spanish GUTURAL G and the English H are produced:
- #8 corresponds to GUTURAL G or [X].
- #9 corresponds to the English H.
![Spanish G - 3 Ways of Pronunciation + 6 Simple Tips for English Natives (1) Spanish G - 3 Ways of Pronunciation + 6 Simple Tips for English Natives (1)](https://i0.wp.com/blancaquintero.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Mouth-position-Pronounce-Spanish-89.png)
Have you noticed that not all Spaniards pronounce the GUTURAL G with the same intensity?
In fact, in the South of Spain and Latin America, they normally pronounce the letter G (GUTURAL G) very similar to the English H so don’t worry if the sound you get isn’t very raspy.
Tips to pronounce GUTURAL G
Say “house”. Now, pronounce the English H but lift your tongue a little bit, just as if you were pronouncing the letter K.
You don’t need to pronounce the GUTURAL G very raspy if you find it difficult. Actually, you can produce the [X] sound anywhere in between numbers 8 and 9 on the image above.
Or you can simply pronounce it like a strong English H.
When should I pronounce the letter G as GUTURAL G?
Only when the letter G is followed by an E or an I: ge, gi. Then, we pronounce it like the Spanish J.
Examples of words with GUTURAL G
geografía, energía
More examples:
ge: generoso, gente, argentino, agenda.
¡La geografía y la historia son super interesantes!
gi: gigante, elegir, Egipto.
Esta chica siempre tiene energía; no sé cómo lo hace.
Regular G (or Stopping) and Soft G (or Airy)
When the letter G is followed by A/O/U or a consonant, the sound is much softer than [X] because the sound is produced in a different part of the mouth.
![Spanish G - 3 Ways of Pronunciation + 6 Simple Tips for English Natives (2) Spanish G - 3 Ways of Pronunciation + 6 Simple Tips for English Natives (2)](https://i0.wp.com/blancaquintero.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Mouth-position-Pronounce-Spanish-G.png)
Depending on the position of the letter G in the sentence, and in the word, it’ll sound in two different ways:
- STOPPING G [g]
- AIRY G (the softest G) [ɣ].
Let’s see the 2 of them.
1. STOPPING G (beginning or -ng-)
IPA symbol
The symbol that represents STOPPING G is [g].
The sound of the STOPPING G
The Spanish G sounds a little softer than the English G.
It doesn’t sound like the G ingas,go orgate (it sounds a little softer).
It sounds more like the G inEnglish.
Tips to say the STOPPING G like a Spanish native
The SOFT G doesn’t have the touch of /k/ that the letter G usually has in English.
To get the sound of Spanish G, try to pronounce it with your tongue relaxed.
When should I pronounce the letter G as a STOPPING G?
We use this sound only:
- At the beginning of the sentence.
- After the letter N.
Examples in Spanish with the STOPPING G sound
gas, gol, engrasar
More examples:
1. At the beginning of the word and sentence.
ga, go, gu
gato, gafas, gastar.
gota, golondrina, gorra.
gubernamental, Gustavo, guapo.
Ganaron el óscar.
Gustavo y Elena ganaron la partida.
In the last sentence, the letter G in “ganaron” is pronounced as a softer G [ɣ]because it isn’t at the beginning of the sentence.
gl, gr
globo, gluten, glicerina.
grande, grillo, Groenlandia.
Groenlandia es un país increíble.
Los paisajes de Groenlandia son increíbles.
The letter G in “Groenlandia” is pronounced softer [ɣ]because it isn’t at the beginning of the sentence.
2. After N (-ng-)
engrasar, engordar, engatusar, inglés.
Estuve un mes aprendiendo inglés en Gales.
Toco en un grupo de rock.
2. AIRY G (in the middle)
It’s the most common sound for the letter G in Spanish.
IPA symbol
[ɣ] is the symbol of the IPA that represents the sound of AIRY G (the softest G).
The sound of the AIRY G
This sound doesn’t exist in English.
It is so soft that some English natives think it’s silent.
When AIRY G is followed by U (gu), you may even hear a /w/ sound. For example, when we say “agua“, you might hear /awa/.
Tips to pronounce AIRY G and differences with SOFT G
- The tongue doesn’t touch the palate. When we pronounce AIRY G, we don’t stop the flow of air -as we do with the SOFT G- but we go smoothly from one sound to the next one.
- This means that we can hold the [ɣ] sound as long as we have air in our lungs, while the [g] sound ends (and starts) as soon as we separate our tongue from the palate.
![Spanish G - 3 Ways of Pronunciation + 6 Simple Tips for English Natives (3) Spanish G - 3 Ways of Pronunciation + 6 Simple Tips for English Natives (3)](https://i0.wp.com/blancaquintero.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Mouth-position-Pronounce-Spanish-G-vs-g.png)
Imagine you have hairs in your palate and you have to caress them.The feeling in your throat/back palate should be similar to caress the hairs in your eyebrow or eyelashes, without actually touching the skin.
When should I pronounce the letter G as AIRY G?
We use the AIRY G sound when the letter G is in the middle of a sentence/word, except after the letter N (-ng-).
Examples in Spanish with AIRY G sound
pagar, algo, agua
More exmples:
ga, go, gu
alga, salga, vaga, larga.
lago, ciego, agotado, agosto.
aguja, igual, agujero, igual.
Yo sé que pasó algo en ese lago, peroGustavo no me lo cuenta.
Eres igual que Agustín: sólo piensas enganar.
The letter G in “ganar” is pronounced as [g]because it’s after the letter N: enganar.
In short: Pronunciation of the letter G
Spanish natives pronounce the letter G in 3 different ways:
GUTURAL G | [X] |
|
STOPPING G | [g] |
|
AIRY G | [ɣ] | In the middle of the sentence/word (except -ng-):
|
There are other 3 letters that have a STOPPING, and a BLOWING or AIRY version:
- Letters B and V
- Letter D
Click to see how to pronounce other consonants in Spanish.