g / gu
G and Gu
A soft g needs an e or an i next to it. Gu cancels the soft sound.
How It Works
The letter g changes its sound with the vowel after it.
| Spelling | Sounds like | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ga, go, gu | the g in “go” | gat (cat) |
| ge, gi | the j in “jam” | gent (people), legir (to read) |
| gue, gui | the g in “go”; the u is not read | guitarra (guitar), guèrra (war) |
If you read French or Spanish, you know this rule already: gu keeps the g hard before e and i.
The rule explains why a verb spells its stem in two ways. Manjar (to eat) has a j before the a, and mangi (I eat) has a g before the i. The sound is the same in both, and the spelling follows the rule. A later entry teaches these verb spellings.
Examples (5)
- gat
cat
G before a is hard.
- gent
people
G before e is soft, like the j in “jam”.
- legir
to read
G before i is soft.
- guitarra
guitar
Gu keeps the g hard before i.
- guèrra
war
Gu keeps the g hard before è.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out the u before i.
gitarraguitarraWithout the u, the g before i would be soft.
How It Connects
Learn This First
G and gu depend on the letters g and u, so the alphabet comes first.
Related Patterns
Practice g / gu in Bubblegum
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