Appendix:English words where G is pronounced exceptionally
The following English words contain the letter "g" pronounced in a way which is an exception to the rules: the soft "g" (pronounced as /dʒ/) occurs when a single "g" comes before the letters "e", "i" or "y", and the hard "g" (pronounced as /g/) occurs elsewhere, or with double "gg".
Hard G before E, I or Y[edit]
- altogether
- Argyll
- auger, ~s
- bagel ~s
- begin, ~ner, ~ners, ~ning, ~nings, ~s
- besagew, ~s
- bogey, ~s
- bogie, ~s
- boogie, ~s
- burger, ~s
- caregiver, ~s, caregiving, ~s
- cowgirl, ~s
- eager
- Elgin (Scotland, Canadian places, and Texas city; pronunciation with soft "g" is for a Houston avenue and other American places)
- fogey, ~s
- forgive, ~n, ~ness, ~r, ~rs, ~s, forgivable, forgiving, ~s
- gear, ~ed, ~ing, ~ings, ~s
- gearbox, ~es
- geas
- gecko, ~s
- Geddes
- geek, ~s, ~y
- geese
- geegaw, gewgaw, ~s
- Geiger (both occurrences)
- geisha, ~s
- gelding, ~s
- geoduck
- get, ~s, ~ter, ~ters, ~ting, ~tings
- getaway, ~s
- geyser, ~s
- gibbon, ~s
- gibbous (by one pronunciation)[1]
- giddy, giddier, giddiest
- gift, ~ed, ~ing, ~ings, ~s
- giftware, ~s
- gig, ~ged, ~ging, ~gings, ~s
- giga- (sometimes pronounced with a soft "g")
- gigabyte, ~s
- gigaflop, ~s
- giggle, ~d, ~r, ~s, giggling, ~s, giggly
- Giglio (surname, chiefly American English; pronunciation with soft "g" is closer to Italian)
- gild, ~ed, ~ing
- gilder, ~s
- gill, ~s, ~y (the fish organ; the unit of liquor measure is pronounced with a soft "g")
- Gillespie
- gillie, ~s
- gilt, ~s
- gimbal, ~s
- gimble, ~ed, ~ing, ~s
- gimlet, ~s
- gimme, ~s
- gimmick, ~ry, ~s, ~y
- gingham, ~s
- ginkgo, ~s or ~es
- gird, ~ed, ~ing, ~ings, ~s, girt
- girder, ~s
- girdle, ~r
- girl, ~s, ~ie, ~ish, ~ishly
- girlfriend, ~s
- girlhood
- girth, ~s
- git, ~s
- give, ~n, ~nness, ~ns, ~r, ~rs, ~s, ~th
- giveaway, ~s
- giveback, ~s
- giving, ~s
- Giza
- gizmo, ~s
- gizzard, ~s
- gynecolog~ ~ic, ~ical, ~ist, ~ists, ~y
- gyre (one pronunciation, in the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll; in the preface to his book Through the Looking Glass, Carroll insists on this, along with "gimble")
- headgear, ~s
- hungey (slang)
- lager, ~s
- Lagevrio
- meager
- misgive, ~s, misgiving, ~s
- poltergeist, ~s
- renege, ~d, , ~s, reneging, ~s
- target, ~ed, ~ing, ~s
- thanksgiving, ~s
- tiger, ~s
- together, ~ness
- unforgiven, unforgiving, ~s
- yogi, ~s
NG with hard G before E, I or Y[edit]
When a suffix starting with "e", "i" or "y" is added to a word ending in "ng", either the "ng" retains its velar nasal pronunciation /ŋ/ (as in clingy, hanger) or the "g" hardens (as in longest). A few words ending in -nger are pronounced with a hard "g", although the "er" ending is not a suffix:
Soft G not followed by E, I or Y[edit]
There are very few true exceptions in which "g" is soft (pronounced as /dʒ/) but not followed by "e", "i", or "y":
- gaol, ~er
Some words have lost a trailing "e" due to suffixing:
- abridgment, ~al, ~ally ~s
- acknowledgment, ~al, ~ally, ~s
- Bridgton
- Bridgwater
- Dodgson (one pronunciation)
- Edgware
- fledgling, ~s
- Hodgkin, ~s, ~son
- Hodgkison
- Hodgkiss, ~on
- Hodgson
- judgment, ~al, ~ally, ~s
- lodgment, ~al, ~ally, ~s
- mortgagor (second occurrence), ~s
- pledgor, ~s
The soft "g" in these words has lost its trailing "e" or "i" in the shortening from their full forms:
- frig (variant spelling of fridge; a short form of refrigerator)
- reg (short form of registrar, registration and registry)
- vag (short form of vagina)
- veg (short form of vegetable), ~es, ~ged, ~ging
Soft GG before E, I or Y[edit]
Double "gg" is usually hard (pronounced as /g/), both in cases where a suffix beginning with "e", "i" or "y" is added to a word that ends in a single vowel letter followed by "g" and the hard "g" pronunciation of the original word is retained and the "g" is doubled in spelling (as in blogger, druggie, hugging, piggish, saggy, wagged), as well as in other words (not the result of suffixing) that contain "gg" before "e", "i" or "y" where the "gg" is also hard (for example dagger). Only a few words have soft (/dʒ/) pronunciations of "gg":
- agger (one pronunciation)
- exaggerate, ~ed, ~es, ~ing, ~ings, ~ion, , ~ions
- veggies, ~y
- arpeggio and similar words from Italian
Either pronunciation[edit]
- Asperger's syndrome
- hegemony, ~ies (/ɡ/ mainly in Britain)
- margarine, ~s (/dʒ/ predominant)
- GIF/gif (both the hard "g" and soft "g" are used[2])
- Argive
- Algae
- digoxin
- Gillingham (Initial "g" is soft for the Kentish town, hard for the Dorset town)
- Gillian (Predominantly with soft "g"; some women [e.g., Flynn, Jacobs, Welch] with this given name use hard "g" instead)
- Sacagawea (/dʒ/ predominant)
Other pronunciations of "g"[edit]
G as /ʒ/[edit]
Although in most English words of French origin soft "g" came to be pronounced [dʒ], there are some words of French origin which retain the original French pronunciation [ʒ]:
- barrage
- beige
- bourgeois
- cabotinage
- camouflage
- collage
- concierge
- entourage
- Farage (surname)
- fuselage
- garage (one pronunciation)
- gendarme
- genre (one pronunciation)
- lingerie (one pronunciation)
- luge (one pronunciation)
- massage (one pronunciation)
- mirage
- prestige
- regime
- rouge
- sabotage
GG as either /gdʒ/ or /dʒ/[edit]
- suggest, ~ed, ~s, ~ing, ~ion, ~ions
- suggillation, ~s
G as /x/[edit]
G as /h/[edit]
- Gila and derived terms (Gila monster, Gila trout, Gila Bend, etc)
- gitano