Isn’t the pronunciation of ぜ sometimes different from “ze” and sounds more like “dze” like in the word
絶対 ( ぜったい ) ?
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According to [this](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%B5%B6%E5%AF%BE), 絶対 has this pronunciation : \[d͡ze̞t̚ta̠i\]
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The topic is solved.
7 comments
I’ve never heard of that. I always hear and pronounce it as ze. never had a problem
whats your native language?
The ざ line is often pronounced with a ‘dz’ sound, especially if they’re at the beginning of a sentence or after a pause.
I know what you mean, but I’m afraid I can’t explain it really well. It is different, and you can hear it.
I hope this video explains it well enough and maybe helps you look into it a bit more!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1EOkyfKj6CI
Good catch! You’re hearing this right; the “z” in Japanese is more like “dz” when in an initial position (I believe in technical terms you’d say it changes from a fricative to an affricate?). Ever since I learnt about this I keep noticing it with 残念、全部、全然 in particular, as well as with how Hunter x Hunter’s narrator pronounces 絶 in the [Nen explanation intro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zztXa2NKZ6g), haha.
Sources: [link 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpqVUFMwN4Q&list=PLAmROvem8e1Ik_PjX8U7A2egdyed3CF14&index=2), [link 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-vQqcyUkdU&t=3247s) (btw Dogen’s “pizza” example in English is actually off the mark here — “pizza” is “pitsa”, not “pidza” — but that has no bearing on the Japanese of course).
Can be. /z/ is one of the variable sounds, it’s often but not always affricated to [dz] in initial position.
I have noticed it too. Not with ZO though or much less noticeable.