Lessons Unit 1, lesson 34
z as in zoo
One consonant, on its own page. Hear it, watch where it sits in each word's sheet, then say the words yourself.
What do the marks mean?
Want the full walkthrough? Read the map explains every mark, with practice.
zthe z in zoo
Say s, then switch your voice on: zzz, like a bee. Your tongue stays exactly where it was for s.
Now say it yourself
Read each word from its sheet, out loud, three times. Where there's a play button, listen first and copy what you hear. Slow is fine — speaking clearly matters more than speaking fast. Tap a word's microphone to record yourself and see which sounds landed.
Check your pronunciation, on this device. The first use downloads a small AI listener (about 40 MB, one time, then it's cached). Your voice is analyzed here in your browser — it never leaves your device.
The voicing pair: s and z
z uses the exact tongue position of s — the only change is switching your voice on, so it buzzes like a bee instead of hissing like a snake. Say zoo and zip and feel that buzz start immediately.
If z comes out sounding like plain s, don't move your tongue — just add voice to the same shape.
Where z hides in plurals
Words spelled with a final s often actually end in the z sound — is, nose, and size all buzz at the end, even though the spelling looks identical to a voiceless s.
The mistake to watch for is letting that final buzz die out early, so buzz or ooze quietly turns into an s sound by the end of the word. Keep the voice on all the way through.
Try zero and busy as well, and notice the buzz stays steady in the middle of a word just as it does at the very start.