дж / дз

The Letter Pairs ДЖ and ДЗ

Level 1Sounds Like dž i dz

дж = "j" in "jam": джоб (pocket), джинси (jeans). дз = "dz": дзън (ding).

How It Works

  • Дж [dʒ]: джоб (pocket), джинси (jeans), джамия (mosque). English names with J use it too: Джон (John).
  • Дз [dz]: дзън (ding), дзен (Zen).

Дж and ч differ only in voicing, and that can change the meaning: джанта (wheel rim) and чанта (bag).

Because each pair stands for one sound, it is not divided when a word breaks across lines: боя-джия (painter), not бояд-жия. The pairs are not separate letters of the българска азбука.

At the end of a word дж loses its voice and sounds like ч. See обеззвучаване в края на думата.

Examples (5)

  1. Телефонът е в джоба ми.

    The phone is in my pocket.

    Word by Word: Phone-the is in pocket-the my.

  2. Купих си нови джинси.

    I bought myself new jeans.

    Word by Word: (I) bought (myself) new jeans.

  3. Джамията е в центъра.

    The mosque is in the center.

    Word by Word: Mosque-the is in center-the.

  4. Джон е от Лондон.

    John is from London.

    Word by Word: John is from London.

    The English "J" sound is written дж.

  5. Звънецът направи „дзън“.

    The bell went "ding".

    Word by Word: Bell-the made "ding".

    Дз appears mostly in sound words like this.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing ж for the English "j" sound.

    Жон е от Лондон.
    Джон е от Лондон.

    Ж is the sound in "measure". The "j" of "John" or "jeans" needs дж.

  • Splitting дж at a line break.

    бояд-жия
    боя-джия

    In бояджия, дж is one sound, so both letters must stay together on the same line.

How It Connects

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

дж / дзLevel 1The Letter Pairs ДЖ and ДЗ

Learn This First

The pairs дж and дз presuppose the alphabet.