/j/ — the /j/ sound
the /j/ sound
Consonants · Approximants
This sound hasn't been scored yet.
How to make it
Tongue high near the hard palate, then glide straight into the vowel.
Watch a native speaker say it
See the mouth and tongue before you record — hearing a sound rarely tells you where the tongue goes.
Rachel's English · English Sounds - Y [j] Consonant - How to make the Y [j] Consonant Watch on YouTube
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Words with this sound
Tap the speaker to hear a native speaker say it.
yeah
/jeə/
you
/juː/
few
/fjuː/
use
/juːz/
yep
/jɛp/
yes
/jˈɛs/
young
/jʌŋ/
your
/jʊr/
huge
/hjuːdʒ/
used
/juzd/
user
/ˈjuzɚ/
yellow
/ˈjeloʊ/
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by exactly one sound. Listen until you can tell them apart, then say them yourself.
- j
yam
/jæm/
dʒjam
/ˈdʒæːm/
- j
yup
/jʌp/
ppup
/pʌp/
- j
you
/juː/
bboo
/buː/
- j
you
/juː/
tto
/tuː/
- j
you
/juː/
ddo
/duː/
- j
yup
/jʌp/
kcup
/kʌp/
- j
yard
/jˈɑːd/
ggod
/ɡɑːd/
- j
yell
/jɛl/
ffell
/fel/
Test yourself on this sound
Read these 8 words in one recording. The AI scores every sound and tells you whether your /j/ came out right.