The JiG is Up

The expression The jig is up! means that a bad deed [1] has been discovered and will come to an end. Well, I’ve discovered a bad deed, and I want it to stop. I’ve heard you pronounce G (dchi) and J (dchei) like an H (eich). But G and J never sound like an H (a Spanish J). Listen to the recording at the bottom while reading along.


J always sounds like dch:

(1) jam, jet, jinx, job, junk

On the other hand, the sound of G can vary a lot! G almost always sounds like a gk before the consonants L and R:

(2) globe, glimpse, grab, grin

But its silent before N:

(3) gnash, gnat, gnaw, gnome

Together with H, G tends to be silent

(4) dough, though, bought, caught

On rare occasions, it can sound like an f before H:

(5) cough, enough, laugh

However, at the beginning of words, GH sounds like gk:

(6) ghastly, ghoul, ghost, ghetto

Before vowels, G can sound like dch (J) or gk! After the vowels A, O or U, G always sounds like a gk:

(7) gap, game, good, got, guess, gum, guy

After the vowel E, I and Y, G can sound like a J:

(8) age, German, gipsy, giant, giraffe, gym, psychology

But it can also sound like a gk:

(9) get, geyser, girl, gift, give, gynecologist

G always sounds like gk at the end of words:

(10) bag, beg, big, bog, bug, bring

There are some words where G has two different sounds in the same word:

(11) garage, engagement

Finally, here are two commonly mispronounced and confused pair of words:

(12) college, colleague

(13) angel, angle

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[1] hecho