/j/

The /j/: the y in yes, with no friction

The /j/ is the sound of the English y in yes. It's made with the tongue high and forward, gliding into the following vowel. It's softer than the Spanish y in yo: in English there's no friction, just a fast glide.

How it's made

• 👄 Mouth: lips relaxed and slightly spread.
• 👅 Tongue: forward and high, close to the palate but not touching it.
• 🔊 Voice: voiced and brief — it glides into the vowel, it isn't held.

You hear it in: yes · you · year · young · yellow

⚠️ The typical Spanish-speaker mistake: producing it with friction, like the Rioplatense y or like a /dʒ/. Yes is neither shes nor jes: the tongue never quite touches.

By the end you'll be able to: glide the /j/ without friction, and keep yes apart from jes and year from jeer.