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Pronunciation · consonant

The /ʒ/ sound — s as in usually

In short

/ʒ/ is a voiced postalveolar fricative — the consonant you hear in usually, television, pleasure. It is voiced: your vocal cords vibrate while you make it. Below: exactly how to position your mouth, audio you can copy, the mistakes learners actually make, and drills to fix them.

How to pronounce /ʒ/

  1. 1Same position as /ʃ/ 'sh'.
  2. 2Switch your voice on — a soft buzzing 'zh'.
  3. 3It is rare and almost always mid-word: usually, television, pleasure.

Sounds like: the s in 'vision' — a voiced sh

/ʒ/ in words — with audio

Listen, then copy. The slow (turtle) version exaggerates the mouth movement.

  • usually/ˈjuːʒuəli/ · sound is medial
  • television/ˈtelɪvɪʒən/ · sound is medial
  • pleasure/ˈpleʒə/ · sound is medial
  • decision/dɪˈsɪʒən/ · sound is medial
  • genre/ˈʒɒnrə/ · sound is initial

The mistake almost everyone makes

Replacing it with /z/ or /dʒ/ so 'pleasure' sounds like 'pledger'. It never starts native English words except loanwords like 'genre'.

Spellings of /ʒ/

These letter patterns commonly spell /ʒ/: s(ion) s(ure) g(e) z(ure). English spelling is unreliable — trust the IPA, not the letters.

Keep exploring

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce the /ʒ/ sound?
Same position as /ʃ/ 'sh'. Switch your voice on — a soft buzzing 'zh'. It is rare and almost always mid-word: usually, television, pleasure.
What is the most common mistake with /ʒ/?
Replacing it with /z/ or /dʒ/ so 'pleasure' sounds like 'pledger'. It never starts native English words except loanwords like 'genre'.
Which spellings make the /ʒ/ sound?
Common spellings include “s(ion)”, “s(ure)”, “g(e)”, “z(ure)” — as in usually /ˈjuːʒuəli/, television /ˈtelɪvɪʒən/, pleasure /ˈpleʒə/.
Does /ʒ/ matter for IELTS?
It is a polish-level sound: errors are audible but rarely stop a listener understanding you. IELTS scores intelligibility, not perfection — prioritise the contrasts that change word meaning.

Next step

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