The /ð/ sound: th as in this

Consonant
Voiced
High priority for IELTS

Hear it

in this

Lips: Relaxed
Tongue: Tip between the teeth
Voice: On: feel your throat buzz
Air: Squeezed through a narrow gap

The sound on its own: recording by Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Credits

How to make /ð/

1
Same tongue-between-teeth position as /θ/.
2
Switch your voice on; the tongue tip should buzz.
3
It appears in the most common English words: the, this, that, they.

Sounds like: the voiceless th with a buzz added

/ð/ vs /d/: they vs day

Every pair

Let the air FLOW for /ð/; tongue between the teeth, continuous buzz. /d/ blocks the air completely. Practise 'the' on its own until the buzz is automatic; it is the most common word in English.

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Which word do you hear?

How /ð/ is spelled

th

The usual mistake

Substituting /d/ ('this' → 'dis') or /z/ ('breathe' → 'breeze'). Because 'the' is the most frequent word in English, this error is heard constantly.

Words to practise

Say it and get scored

Read this, mother, breathe, they, weather, although aloud. Free, no account.

Check my /ð/

Questions

How do you pronounce the /ð/ sound?

Same tongue-between-teeth position as /θ/. Switch your voice on; the tongue tip should buzz. It appears in the most common English words: the, this, that, they.

What is the most common mistake with /ð/?

Substituting /d/ ('this' → 'dis') or /z/ ('breathe' → 'breeze'). Because 'the' is the most frequent word in English, this error is heard constantly.

Which spellings make the /ð/ sound?

Common spellings include “th”, as in this /ðɪs/, mother /ˈmʌðə/, breathe /briːð/.

Does /ð/ matter for IELTS?

Yes. This is a high-priority sound. Errors here frequently change one word into another, which examiners hear as reduced clarity (the exact Band 6 wording is “mispronunciation … reduces clarity at times”).