Fricative г

Level 1Sounds Like frykatyŭnae g

The Belarusian г is not the "g" of "go". It is a breathy sound made at the back of the mouth, [ɣ], like a voiced version of the "ch" in Scottish "loch": горад (city), нага (leg), галава (head).

How It Works

How to make the sound
Start with [x], the sound in хата (house), and add your voice. The tongue does not close fully, so air keeps flowing. This sound is [ɣ].

Where you hear it

  • At the start of a word: горад, галава, гэта, Гомель.
  • Between vowels: нага, дарога.
  • In loanwords too: геаграфія.
  • At the end of a word it becomes voiceless [x]: снег [sʲnʲex], бераг (shore).

The few words with [g]
Some old borrowings keep a real stop [g]: ганак (porch), гузік (button). The official spelling still writes them with г. The alternative classical spelling, taraškievica, writes them with a separate letter ґ; see Official Spelling and Taraškievica. You may also hear [g] where к is voiced by a following sound, as in вакзал [vaɡˈzal].

The [ɣ] is one of the clearest differences between Belarusian and Russian pronunciation.

Examples (6)

  1. Мой родны горад — Гомель.

    My home town is Homiel.

    Word by Word: My native city — Homiel.

    Both г sounds are [ɣ].

  2. У мяне баліць нага.

    My leg hurts.

    Word by Word: At me hurts leg.

  3. Гэта наша дарога дадому.

    This is our road home.

    Word by Word: This our road home.

  4. На ганку ляжыць гузік.

    A button is lying on the porch.

    Word by Word: On porch lies button.

    ганак and гузік are among the few words pronounced with [g].

  5. На дварэ ідзе снег.

    It is snowing outside.

    Word by Word: On yard goes snow.

    At the end of снег, г sounds [x].

  6. Я вывучаю геаграфію.

    I study geography.

    Word by Word: I study geography.

    Even in this loanword, г is [ɣ].

Common Mistakes

  • Pronouncing г as the stop [g].

    горад pronounced [ˈɡɔrat]
    горад pronounced [ˈɣɔrat]

    In almost all Belarusian words г is the fricative [ɣ]. Keep the air flowing.

  • Ending a word in [k] instead of [x].

    снег pronounced [sʲnʲek]
    снег pronounced [sʲnʲex]

    A final г loses its voice and becomes [x], the sound of х, not [k].

  • Writing ґ in the official spelling.

    Дзе мой ґузік?
    Дзе мой гузік?

    The official alphabet has no ґ. Words with [g] such as гузік are written with г; only the alternative taraškievica spelling uses ґ.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Fricative гLevel 1

Learn This First

The fricative г is a letter sound.