How to Pronounce Th ð and Z sounds | Learn English Pronunciation Course

In this video, we are going to focus on two English consonant sounds.

The sounds th /ð/ and /z/.

So the ‘th’ sound and a ‘z’ sound.

I know they sound very similar but they are actually quite different.

And they are very important sounds in English so I want you to be able to pronounce them

correctly.

Let's take two example words.

The first word I have is the word ‘then’.

Can you hear the th sound? ‘then’

The second word is ‘zen’.

Can you hear the sound ‘z’?

‘zen’ So ‘then’ and ‘zen’.

I know this may sound complicated because they sound similar but they are different,

guys.

And if you practice with me, by the end of this video, you will be able to pronounce

them.

So let's get started.

Before we learn about the consonant sounds ‘th’ /ð/ and zed /z/ in English,

you should always know about the I.P.A spelling, guys.

This is very useful.

And you can also watch how I move my mouth and please always try to repeat after me - it's

very important.

You can do it.

Let's do it together.

Let's first learn how to produce the ‘th’ /ð/ sound in English.

But this ‘th’ is voiced.

So you are going to use your voice You're going to use…

um… you're going to feel a vibration in your throat, okay.

And what you're going to do is you're going to put your tongue between your teeth and

you're not going to push out some air.

What you're going to do, is you're going to create a vibration with your tongue.

So your tongue has to vibrate, /ð/.

Okay.

Please watch my mouth and repeat after me.

/ð/ /ð/

/ð/ Let's practice with the word ‘then’.

Please repeat after me.

‘then’ ‘then’

‘then’ Good.

Let's now move on to the /z/ sound.

So this is voiced.

You are going to use your voice and feel a vibration in your throat.

You're going to put your tongue against your bottom teeth and you're going to make it vibrate.

Use your tongue.

Just make a sound so, /z/.

Okay.

Please repeat after me.

/z/ /z/

/z/ Let's practice with the word ‘zen’.

Please repeat after me.

‘zen’ ‘zen’

‘zen’ Good.

Let's now practice with minimal pairs.

These words, that have very similar sounds, but they are quite different actually.

And they're very good if you really want to hear the difference.

But first let's focus on the sounds.

Please watch how I move my mouth and repeat after me.

First, the ‘th’ sound.

/ð/ /ð/

/ð/ And now the /z/ sound.

Please repeat after me.

/z/ /z/

/z/ Let's now do both.

Repeat after me, guys.

/ð/ /z/

/ð/ /z/

/ð/ /z/

Let's now practice with our words.

Please repeat after me.

‘then’ ‘zen’

‘then’ ‘zen’

‘then’ ‘zen’

Excellent, guys.

Well, guys.

It's now time to go through minimal pairs together.

Please watch how I move my mouth and repeat after me.

Let's go.

bathe bays

breathe breeze

clothe close

clothing closing

lathe laze

loathe lows

scythe size

seethe sees

sheathe she's

soothed sues

then zen

with whiz

Excellent, guys.

Okay, guys.

Let's now practice with sentences containing these consonant sounds.

The first sentence: ‘Sue's voice soothes me.’

Please repeat after me.

‘Sue's voice soothes me.’

And finally: ‘The clothing store is closing.’

Please repeat after me.

‘The clothing store is closing.’

Good job.

Let's move on.

Let's now move on to listening practice.

I'm now going to show you two words.

I will say one of the two words, and I want you to listen very carefully and

to tell me if this word is, ‘a)’ or ‘b)’

Let's get started.

Let's start with our first two words.

Now which one do I say?

Word ‘a’ or word ‘b’?

Listen.

‘whiz’ One more time.

‘whiz’ Is it ‘a’ or is it ‘b’?

It's ‘b’ guys, ‘whiz’.

‘a’ is ‘with’.

Listen to me.

‘lathe’ ‘lathe’

It's ‘a’ guys, ‘lathe’.

‘b’ is ‘laze’.

‘scythe’ ‘scythe’

It's ‘a’, ‘scythe’.

‘b’ is ‘size’.

‘lows’ ‘lows’

Answer ‘b’ is correct, ‘lows’.

‘a’ is ‘loathe’.

‘close’ ‘close’

‘b’ of course, ‘close’.

‘a’ is ‘clothe’.

Listen to me, guys.

‘soothe’ ‘soothe’

It's answer ‘a’, ‘soothe’.

‘b’ is pronounced ‘sues’.

‘teasing’ ‘teasing’

It's ‘b’, ‘teasing’.

‘a’ is ‘teething’.

‘breeze’ ‘breeze’

Which one is it?

It's ‘b’, ‘breeze’.

‘a’ is ‘breathe’.

Listen to me very carefully.

‘closing’ ‘closing’

It's ‘b’, ‘closing’.

‘a’ is ‘clothing’.

And finally.

‘sheathe’ ‘sheathe’

Of course guys it's ‘a’, ‘sheathe’.

‘b’ would be ‘she's’.

Great practice, guys.

You now have a better understanding of the two consonant sounds /ð/ and /z/ in English.

Keep practicing.

It takes a lot of practice to be able to master these sounds but you can do it.

So keep practicing.

Train your ear as well to hear the different sounds in English.

And obviously watch my other pronunciation videos.

I promise you they will help you improve your skills.

See you next time.

Thank you so much for watching, guys.

If you've liked it, show me your support, click ‘like’, subscribe to the channel,

put your comments below, and share this video.

See you.