g / gu

G and GU

Level 1

The hard g sound is written ga, gue, gui, go, gu: galego, guerra, guiso, gato. Write ü when you pronounce the u: lingüística.

How It Works

Hard g. The letter g sounds like the g in English go before a, o and u, and before a consonant: galego (Galician), gato (cat), gustar (to like), grande (big).

Gu before e and i. To keep that hard sound before e or i, write gu, with a silent u: guerra (war), guiso (stew), ninguén (nobody), seguir (to follow). Galician does not write ge or gi for a soft sound in its own words. Where Spanish has ge or gi, Galician usually has x: xente (people).

Spelling changes in verbs. Verbs ending in -gar add a u before an e: chegar becomes cheguei (I arrived), and pagar becomes paguei (I paid). See Spelling Changes in Verb Forms.

The diaeresis ü. When the u between g and e or i is pronounced, it takes two dots: bilingüe (bilingual), lingüística (linguistics), argüír (to argue). Without the dots, the u would be silent.

Gheada. In much of western and central Galicia, many speakers say g and gu as a breathy h sound. This is called gheada. It is a regional pronunciation, and the spelling does not change. See Regional Pronunciations: Gheada and Seseo.

Examples (5)

  1. Falas galego?

    Do you speak Galician?

    Word by Word: Speak-you Galician?

  2. O gato dorme na cama.

    The cat is sleeping on the bed.

    Word by Word: The cat sleeps in-the bed.

  3. Ninguén quere a guerra.

    Nobody wants war.

    Word by Word: Nobody wants the war.

    Gu before e keeps the g hard in both ninguén and guerra.

  4. Onte cheguei tarde.

    Yesterday I arrived late.

    Chegar adds a u before e: cheguei.

  5. A miña irmá é bilingüe.

    My sister is bilingual.

    The dots on ü show that the u is pronounced.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the u in a -gar verb.

    Onte pagei o café.
    Onte paguei o café.

    Without the u, the g before e would not be hard. Pagar becomes paguei, and chegar becomes cheguei.

  • Leaving out the diaeresis.

    Estudo linguística en Santiago.
    Estudo lingüística en Santiago.

    Write ü when the u is heard. Without the dots, the u would be silent, as in guerra.

  • Writing g for the sh sound, as in Spanish.

    Hai moita gente na praza.
    Hai moita xente na praza.

    Galician writes that sound with x, not with g before e or i.

How It Connects

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

g / guLevel 1G and GU

Learn This First

G and gu preserve a consonant sound across different following vowels.