ѕ / џ

The Letters Ѕ and Џ

Level 1Sounds Like ẑ; d̂

Ѕ = dz (ѕвезда, star). Џ = j as in jam (џеб, pocket).

How It Works

Ѕ is dz: ѕвезда (star), ѕид (wall), ѕвоно (bell), ѕвони (it rings). Ѕ is not a frequent letter, but a few of the words that have it are very common.

Watch the look-alike: Macedonian ѕ looks like Latin s, but the Macedonian letter for s is с. So ѕид starts with dz, never with s.

Џ is j as in jam: џеб (pocket), џемпер (sweater), џамија (mosque), џуџе (dwarf). Many words with џ came into Macedonian from Turkish or English.

If you know Serbian, Bulgarian or Russian: star is ѕвезда, not звезда, and bell is ѕвоно, not Serbian звоно. Where Bulgarian writes дж, Macedonian writes џ.

Examples (5)

  1. Ѕвездите се многу убави.

    The stars are very beautiful.

    Ѕвезда starts with dz.

  2. Ѕидот е бел.

    The wall is white.

    Ѕид (wall) starts with dz, not s.

  3. Телефонот ѕвони.

    The phone is ringing.

    Ѕвони (it rings) also starts with dz.

  4. Клучот е во џебот.

    The key is in the pocket.

    Џеб starts with the j of jam.

  5. Облечи го џемперот.

    Put on the sweater.

    Word by Word: Put-on it the-sweater.

    Џемпер (sweater) is written with one letter, џ.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing з instead of ѕ in words like star.

    Гледам една звезда.
    Гледам една ѕвезда.

    In Macedonian, star starts with ѕ, the dz sound. Звезда is the Serbian, Bulgarian and Russian spelling.

  • Writing two letters for the j sound.

    Клучот е во джебот.
    Клучот е во џебот.

    Macedonian writes this sound with the single letter џ, not дж.

  • Reading or typing ѕ as the letter с.

    Сидот е бел.
    Ѕидот е бел.

    Ѕ looks like Latin s, but it is dz. The word for wall is ѕид.

How It Connects

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

ѕ / џLevel 1The Letters Ѕ and Џ

Learn This First

These two letters are learned after the alphabet as a whole.