Decoding the letter J

The letter J, lowercase j (pronounced /dʒeɪ/) normally represents IPA phoneme /dʒ/. For examples see IPA phoneme /dʒ/.

As /ʒ/
All English words that have IPA phoneme /ʒ/ spelled as "j" are of foreign origin, mainly French. From Persian: Taj Mahal /ˈtɑːʒ məˈhɑːl/
 * bijou /ˈbiːʒuː/, déjà vu /ˌdeɪʒɑː ˈvuː/, force majeure /ˌfɔːrs mæˈʒɜːr/, je ne sais quoi /ˌʒə nə seɪ ˈkwɑː/, jeté /ʒəˈteɪ/ (a ballet term), joie de vivre /ˌʒwʌ də ˈviːvrə/

From Portuguese: Rio de Janeiro /ˈriːoʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛəroʊ/

As /j/
IPA phoneme /j/ is called the yod, and it is a semivowel.
 * fjord /ˈfjɔːrd/, hallelujah /ˌhælɪˈluːjə/

Spanish loan words
The letter "j" is pronounced [x]  in Spanish. In Spanish loanwords it is pronounced in different ways in English, normally /h/.


 * jalapeño: /ˌhæləˈpeɪnjəʊ, ˌhɑːləˈpeɪnjəʊ/
 * junta: /ˈdʒʌntə, ˈhʊntə/
 * San Jose (California): /ˌsæn hoʊˈzeɪ/


 * Silent J
 * Juan: /wɑːn/
 * marijuana: /ˌmærəˈwɑːnə/. This word comes from Spanish marihuana [mariˈwana]. The spelling has a J in English but not in Spanish. Spanish has the alternate spelling mariguana.