Pronunciation exercises: /dʒ/ vs /ʒ/

/dʒ/ is an affricate consonant; it can't last long. /ʒ/ is a fricative consonant; this means it is possible to make it sound for a long time:  However, in normal speech /ʒ/ has a length similar to other consonants.

/ʒ/
If a word begins or ends with /ʒ/ then it must be a loanword or a foreign word. Also, most words that have /ʒ/ are enclosed in vowels.

Examples:
 * equation - usually
 * ending in "sion": conclusion - confusion - decision - division - occasion - provision - television - vision
 * ending in "sual": usual - visual
 * ending in "sure": exposure - measure - pleasure

Words derived from French: beige, genre, lingerie

/dʒ/
Since /ʒ/ normally doesn't appear at the beginning or end of the word, we will concentrate on the sound in mid position.

At the beginning of the word: just, general

At the end of the word: change, edge

In the middle of the word:
 * Between vowels: agent, budget, imagine, intelligence, manager, major, original, project, region, register, religious, reject
 * Other cases: arrangement, dangerous, engineer, largely, management, passenger

/dʒ/ vs /ʒ/
There are very few minimal pairs /dʒ/ vs /ʒ/.
 * pledger (someone who pledges) - pleasure; legion - lesion;

Only in Received Pronunciation
 * ledger - leisure

Only in American English
 * jock - Jacques
 * virgin - version

Variant pronunciations
Some words of French origin can be pronounced with /dʒ/ in addition to the original /ʒ/.


 * garage
 * BrE: /ˈɡærɑːʒ, ˈɡærɑːdʒ/ also /ˈɡærɪdʒ/
 * AmE: /ɡəˈrɑːʒ, ɡəˈrɑːdʒ/

Spanish L1
See IPA phoneme /ʒ/ § Spanish.