K and G Sounds

K:(kid, talk, black)

G/g:(go, big, dog)

English Pronunciation, Lesson 26

The K and hard G sounds are often studied as a pair because they are made in the same part of the mouth. They are both stop consonants, but the K sound is voiceless and the G sound is voiced. Let's learn how to pronounce these two consonant sounds.

Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses

How to pronounce the K and G sounds

The voiceless (unvoiced) K sound (IPA symbol: k) can be found in English words such as cat, kid, black, box, cake, quit, and chorus



The voiced G sound (IPA symbol: g) can be found in English words such as girl, go, egg, big, single, and dog.

The G consonant can also make a softer j sound that is found in words such as Germany and gym (IPA symbol: dʒ). We will study this sound in a later lesson.


Both of these sounds are called stop consonants. That means the air used to make these sounds is stopped for a short time before it exits your mouth. Both of these sounds are produced by stopping air in the back part of your mouth. The back part of your tongue should touch the roof of your mouth in the back to briefly stop the air. You release the air to make these sounds. The force of the air is stronger for the K sound than the G sound. The G sound is voiced while the K sound is voiceless.

Voiced and voiceless sounds

In the English language, we use many voiced sounds. That means that the vocal cords vibrate when you say that sound. The G sound is a voiced sound because the vocal cords vibrate when you make the sound.

The K sound is a voiceless or unvoiced sound because the vocal cords do not vibrate when you make the sound. Instead, we use air to make the sound.

In this video, Rachel from Rachel's English will show you how to position your mouth to make each of these sounds.

Let's practice

Practice the voiceless K sound

There are six spellings of the K sound: k, ck, c, ch, x, qu/que.



Now practice the voiced G sound

Now, let's practice the voiced G sound. Remember, your vocal cords should vibrate when you make this sound.

There are three spellings of the G sound: g/gg, ng, gue.

You can use a dictionary or online pronunciation guide to help you learn the correct pronunciation of new vocabulary words.


Finally, practice the sounds side-by-side

Remember to voice the G sound and use only air for the K sound!

G	K
go	cool
bag	back
hang	cake
green	queen
sing	sink

Now say these sentences out loud.
 
The K sounds are in blue. The G sounds are in green:

1)    The dog can lick the girl.

2)    Kick the big green ball.

3)    The big cake cooled in the kitchen.

4)    The school chorus will sing for the queen in England.

5)    Get a clean fork from the sink.

6)    Please be quiet so I can ask you a quick question.

7)    I think I like to speak the English language.

8)    The kitten is in black the box.

9)    Bring Kate the bigger egg.

10)   He quickly corrected the group.

        

Remember to practice these two sounds together, so you can learn their differences and say them correctly! 

Let's move on...

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