S Sound & Z Sound

The letter “s” can represent several different sounds in English depending on its position in a word, the surrounding letters, and the word’s origin.

1. Voiceless /s/
   This is the most common sound for “s”, similar to a hissing snake. It is voiceless, meaning the vocal cords do not vibrate when producing this sound.
   Examples of /s/:
   At the beginning: sun, sing, sock, sit
   In the middle: sister, basic, fasten
   At the end: cats, lips, maps
   
2. Voiced /z/
   The “s” can also make a /z/ sound, which is voiced (vocal cords vibrate). This occurs more often in the middle or end of words.
   Examples of /z/:
   At the beginning: (rare) - zero, zebra (from foreign origins)
   In the middle: music, easy, present
   At the end: dogs, cars, trees
   
3. /ʃ/ (as in “sh”)
   In some words, especially those borrowed from French, “s” or “ss” can make the /ʃ/ (sh) sound.
   Examples of /ʃ/: sugar, sure, tissue, pressure
   
4. /ʒ/ (as in “zh”)
   Less commonly, “s” can make the /ʒ/ sound, usually in words borrowed from French.
   Examples of /ʒ/: measure, pleasure, treasure, vision
   
5. Silent “S”
   In some cases, the “s” is silent and not pronounced at all.
   Examples of silent “s”: island, aisle, debris
   

The following diagram shows some examples of words that have the s sound and the z sound. Scroll down the page for more examples and songs to help you learn how to pronounce words with s sound and with the z sound.

 

Free worksheets to help students practice sorting words with the /s/ sound and with the /z/ sound.
S Sound & Z Sound Worksheet #1 (with answers)
S Sound & Z Sound Worksheet #2 (with answers)

Voiced s / When ’s’ sounds like ‘z’

• Show Video Lesson

S and Z: 35 Common Words Where S Needs to Sound Like Z<br?

• Show Video Lesson

General Rule for “S” Pronounced as /z/

1. Between Two Vowels:
   Example: rose, nose, music, present
   
2. When Following a Voiced Consonant or Vowel in Plural/Verb Forms:
   Example: loves, dogs, goes, plays
   
3. Some Fixed Words with Voiced “S” Sounds:
   Example: his, was, these, those
   

Learning the Alphabet Worksheets
A/a	B/b	C/c	D/d
E/e	F/f	G/g	H/h
I/i	J/j	K/k	L/l
M/m	N/n	O/o	P/p
Q/q	R/r	S/s	T/t
U/u	V/v	W/w	X/x
Y/y	Z/z	a-z	A-Z

Learn the sound of the letters

Learning Short Vowels

Short Vowels
Short A	Short E	Short I
Short O	Short U	Short Vowels

Learning Long Vowels

Long Vowels
Long A	Long E	Long I
Long O	Long U	Y (vowel)
Long Vowels	Short & Long Vowels

Compare Short & Long Vowels

Short & Long Vowels
Short & Long A	Short & Long E	Short & Long I
Short & Long O	Short & Long U	Short I & Long E

Learning the Sound of Consonants

Consonant Sounds
B Sound	Hard C	Soft C
D Sound	F Sound	Hard G
Soft G	H Sound	J Sound
K Sound	L Sound	M Sound
N Sound	P Sound	Q Sound
P Sound	S Sound	T Sound
V Sound	W Sound	X Sound
Y Sound	Z Sound	S & Z Sounds

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