/ʒ/ — Choose the word that contains the sound represented by the given phonetic symbol

Analyze the question: You are asked to find the word that contains the sound /ʒ/. This is the "voiced palato-alveolar fricative," the sound in the middle of measure or vision. It is a "zh" sound.

Explain the concept: /ʒ/ is the voiced partner of /ʃ/ (the "sh" sound). Both are made in the same place in the mouth, but /ʒ/ uses the vocal cords (you can feel a vibration in your throat), while /ʃ/ does not. Spellings that often give /ʒ/ are -sure (as in measure, leisure), -sion (as in vision, decision), and -ge in some French-origin words (as in garage).

Solution: Let us check each option.

• A. pressure /ˈpreʃə/. The "ss" gives /ʃ/ (voiceless "sh"), so this is not /ʒ/.
• B. patient /ˈpeɪʃənt/. The "ti" gives /ʃ/, so this is not /ʒ/.
• C. charade /ʃəˈrɑːd/ (or /ʃəˈreɪd/). The "ch" gives /ʃ/, because it comes from French. It is not /ʒ/.
• D. leisure /ˈleʒə/. The "s" gives /ʒ/, so this is correct.

Answer: D. leisure

Tip: Watch out for pressure because it looks similar to leisure (both end in "-sure"). The difference is that after a consonant sound (like "ss"), "-sure" is /ʃ/, but after a vowel sound (like "lei-"), "-sure" is usually /ʒ/. Compare measure, treasure, pleasure (all /ʒ/) with pressure, sure (/ʃ/). Also, in most cases, if you can remember the "zh" sound as in vision, you will spot it quickly.