Hard and Soft C and G Sounds

The hard C sound is pronounced as /k/ (as in 'cat'), while the soft C sound is pronounced as /s/ (as in 'cent').

An example of a word with a hard C sound is 'cat'.

An example of a word with a soft C sound is 'city'.

In the word 'go', the letter G makes a hard G sound, pronounced as /g/.

In the word 'giraffe', the letter G makes a soft G sound, pronounced as /j/.

A common rule is that C is soft when followed by the letters E, I, or Y, and hard otherwise.

A common rule is that G is soft when followed by E, I, or Y, and hard otherwise.

The word 'circus' contains both hard (C in 'cur') and soft (C in 'cir') C sounds.

The context of the letters that follow C and G helps determine whether they are pronounced hard or soft.

In 'cactus', the C is pronounced hard as /k/.