View source for G

{{distinguish|text= the Cyrillic letter [[Ԍ| Komi Sje (Ԍ)]] or the [[ɢ|Voiced uvular plosive (ɢ)]]}}
{{Short description|Seventh letter of the Latin alphabet}}
{{About|the letter of the alphabet}}
{{Technical reasons|G#|the musical note|G♯ (musical note)}}
{{pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Infobox grapheme
|name = G
|letter=G g
|script=[[Latin script]]
|type=[[Alphabet]]
|typedesc=ic 
|language=[[Latin language]]
|phonemes={{flex list|[{{IPAlink|ɡ}}]|[{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}]|[{{IPAlink|ʒ}}]|[{{IPAlink|ŋ}}]|[{{IPAlink|j}}]|[{{IPAlink|ɣ}}~{{IPAlink|ʝ}}]|[{{IPAlink|x}}~{{IPAlink|χ}}]|[{{IPAlink|d͡z}}]|[{{IPAlink|ɟ}}]|[{{IPAlink|k}}]|[{{IPAlink|ɠ}}]|[{{IPAlink|ɢ}}]|[{{IPAlink|z}}]|{{IPAc-en|dʒ|iː}}}}
|unicode=U+0047, U+0067, U+0261
|alphanumber=7
|number=
|fam1=<hiero>T14</hiero>
|fam2=[[File:Proto-semiticG-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Gimel]]
|fam3=[[File:phoenician gimel.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Gimel]]
|fam4=[[File:Greek Gamma 03.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Early Greek Gamma]]
|fam5=[[File:Early Etruscan C.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Early Etruscan C]]
|fam6=[[Gamma|Γ γ]]
|fam7=[[𐌂]]
|fam8=[[C]]
|usageperiod= {{circa}} 300 BCE to present
|children={{flex list|[[₲]]|[[Ȝ]]|[[Ᵹ]]|[[File:Looptail g.svg|class=skin-invert-image|10px]]}}
|sisters={{flex list|[[C]]|[[Г]]|[[ࠂ]]|[[Gimel|ℷ]]|[[𐡂]]|[[wikt:Գ|Գ]] [[wikt:գ|գ]]|[[Gimel|(ג ﺝ ﮒ ܓ)]]}}
|equivalents=[[C]]
|associates=[[Gh (digraph)|gh]], [[List of Latin-script digraphs#G|g(x)]]
|direction=Left-to-right
|image=File:Latin_letter_G.svg
|imageclass=skin-invert-image
}}
{{Latin letter info|g}}

'''G''', or '''g''', is the seventh [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] of the [[Latin alphabet]], used in the [[English alphabet|modern English alphabet]], the alphabets of other western [[Languages of Europe|European languages]], and others worldwide. Its name in English is [[English alphabet#Letter names|''gee'']] (pronounced {{IPAc-en|'|dʒ|iː|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-G.wav}}), plural ''gees''.<ref>''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language''. 1976.</ref>

The [[Letter case|lowercase]] version can be written in two forms: the single-storey (sometimes "opentail") '''{{sans-serif|{{char|g}}}}''' and the double-storey (sometimes "looptail") '''{{serif|{{char|g}}}}'''. The former is commonly used in handwriting and [[typeface]]s based on it, especially in texts intended to be read by children; it is the style used by most [[sans-serif typeface]]s, such as [[Helvetica]]. The latter form is used by most [[serif typefaces]], such as [[Times (typeface)|Times]].

==History==
{{For|earlier history|C#History}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Egyptian
! Phoenician <br />[[gimel|gaml]]
! Western Greek<br />[[Gamma]]
! Etruscan<br />C
! Old Latin<br />C
! Latin <br />G
|- style="background:white;background:light-dark(white,black); text-align:center;"
| {{align|center|<hiero>T14</hiero>}}
|[[File:Phoenician gimel.svg|class=skin-invert-image|30px|Phoenician gimel]]
|[[File:Greek Gamma archaic 1.svg|class=skin-invert-image|55px|Greek Gamma]]
|[[File:EtruscanC-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|30px|Etruscan C]]
|[[File:Old Latin G.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Old Latin]]
|[[File:Capitalis monumentalis G.svg|class=skin-invert-image|x30px|Latin G]]
|}
The evolution of the Latin alphabet's G can be traced back to the Latin alphabet's predecessor, the [[Greek alphabet]]. The voiced velar stop was represented by the third letter of the Greek alphabet, [[Gamma|gamma (Γ)]], which was later adopted by the [[Etruscan language]]. Latin then borrowed this "rounded form" of gamma, C, to represent the same sound in words such as ''recei'', which was likely an early dative form of ''[[Rex (title)|rex]]'', meaning "king", as found in an "early Latin inscription."<ref name="Ray-Britannica">{{Cite web |last1=Ray |first1=Michael |last2=Gaur |first2=Aakanksha |date=2022-04-27 |title=G |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/G-letter |access-date=2023-05-08 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref> Over time, however, the letter C shifted to represent the [[voiceless velar stop]], leading to the displacement of the letter K. Scholars believe that this change can be attributed to the influence of the Etruscan language on Latin.<ref name="Ray-Britannica" /> 

Afterwards, the letter 'G' was introduced in the [[History of the Latin alphabet#Old Latin period|Old Latin period]] as a variant of '[[C]]' to distinguish voiced {{IPA|/ɡ/}} from voiceless {{IPA|/k/}}, and G was used to represent a [[voiced velar stop]] from this point on and C "stood for the unvoiced velar only".<ref name="Ray-Britannica" />

The recorded originator of 'G' is [[freedman]] [[Spurius Carvilius Ruga]], who added letter G to the teaching of the [[Roman alphabet]] during the 3rd century BCE:<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nlEPhP900-UC&q=Boustrophedon|title=The Writing Revolution: Cuneiform to the Internet|last=Gnanadesikan|first=Amalia E.|date=2011-09-13|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9781444359855|language=en}}</ref> he was the first Roman to open a fee-paying school, around 230 BCE. At this time, '[[K]]' had fallen out of favor, and 'C', which had formerly represented both {{IPA|/ɡ/}} and {{IPA|/k/}} before open vowels, had come to express {{IPA|/k/}} in all environments.

Ruga's positioning of 'G' shows that [[alphabetic order]] related to the letters' values as [[Greek numerals]] was a concern even in the 3rd century BCE. According to some records, the original seventh letter, 'Z', had been purged from the Latin alphabet somewhat earlier in the 3rd century BCE by the [[Roman censor]] [[Appius Claudius Caecus|Appius Claudius]], who found it distasteful and foreign.<ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/zed.html Encyclopaedia Romana]</ref> Sampson (1985) suggests that: "Evidently the order of the alphabet was felt to be such a concrete thing that a new letter could be added in the middle only if a 'space' was created by the dropping of an old letter."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.evertype.com/standards/wynnyogh/thorn.html|title=Sorting the letter ÞORN|last1=Everson|first1=Michael|last2=Sigurðsson|first2=Baldur|website=Evertype|publisher=ISO CEN/TC304|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924083021/http://www.evertype.com/standards/wynnyogh/thorn.html|archive-date=2018-09-24|url-status=dead|access-date=2018-11-01|last3=Málstöð|first3=Íslensk}}</ref>  

George Hempl proposed in 1899 that there never was such a "space" in the alphabet and that in fact 'G' was a direct descendant of [[zeta]].  Zeta took shapes like ⊏ in some of the [[Old Italic script]]s; the development of the [[Roman square capitals|monumental]] form 'G' from this shape would be exactly parallel to the development of 'C' from [[gamma]]. He suggests that the pronunciation {{IPA|/k/}} &gt; {{IPA|/ɡ/}} was due to contamination from the also similar-looking 'K'.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hempl|first=George|date=1899|title=The Origin of the Latin Letters G and Z|journal=[[Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association]]|volume=30|publisher=[[The Johns Hopkins University Press]]|pages=24–41|doi=10.2307/282560|jstor=282560}}</ref>

Eventually, both [[velar consonant]]s {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}} developed [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]] [[allophone]]s before front vowels; consequently in today's [[Romance languages]], {{vr|c}} and {{vr|g}} have different sound values depending on context (known as [[hard and soft C]] and [[hard and soft G]]). Because of [[French orthography|French]] influence, [[English orthography|English language orthography]] shares this feature.

===Typographic variants===
[[File:LowercaseG.svg|left|thumb|[[Allograph|Typographic variants]] include a double-storey and a single-storey '''g'''.|alt=Image shows the two forms of the letter g]]
The modern [[lowercase]] {{char|g}} has two typographic variants: the single-storey (sometimes "opentail") [[File:Opentail g.svg|class=skin-invert-image|8px|alt=a letter g shaped like a circle with a dangling hook]] and the double-storey (sometimes "looptail") [[File:Looptail g.svg|class=skin-invert-image|8px|alt=a letter g shaped like spectacles]]. The single-storey form derives from the majuscule (uppercase) form by raising the [[serif]] that distinguishes it from 'c' to the top of the loop (thus closing the loop), and extending the vertical stroke downward and to the left. The double-storey form {{nowrap|([[File:Looptail g.svg|class=skin-invert-image|8px]])}} had developed similarly, except that some ornate forms then extended the tail back to the right, and to the left again, forming a closed [[Bowl (typography)|bowl]] or loop. In the double-storey version, a small top stroke in the upper-right, often terminating in an orb shape, is called an "ear". The loop-tail form is the original one, as seen in 9th century [[Carolingian script]]; evolving over centuries of [[Scriptorium|monastic copying]], the open-tail variant came to predominate and it was this that [[Johannes Gutenberg|Gutenberg]] adopted when creating the first [[Blackletter]] typefaces{{snd}} until that in turn was replaced by [[Humanist minuscule]], which reasserted the closed-tail form.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[The Atlantic]] | first=Sarah |last=Zhang |title=The 'g' in Google's Old Logo Is Really Weird: a tale of two "g"s |date=April 9, 2018 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/04/lowercase-g/557504/ }}</ref>

Generally, the two forms are complementary and interchangeable; the form displayed is a [[typeface]] selection choice. In [[Unicode]], the two appearances are generally treated as glyph variants with no [[wikt:semantic|semantic]] difference. Most [[serif]] typefaces use the looptail form (for example, <span style=font-family:"Times New Roman", Times, serif>{{char|g}}</span>) and most [[sans-serif]] typefaces use the opentail form (for example, <span style=font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif>{{char|g}}</span>) but the [[code point]] in both cases is U+0067. For applications where the single-storey variant must be distinguished (such as strict [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] in a typeface where the usual g character is double-storey), the character {{Unichar|0261|Latin small letter script g}} is available, as well as an upper case version, {{Unichar|A7AC|Latin capital letter script G}}. 

Occasionally the difference has been exploited to provide contrast. In the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]], opentail {{angbr|[[File:Opentail g.svg|class=skin-invert-image|8px]]}} has always represented a [[voiced velar plosive]], while looptail {{angbr|[[File:Looptail g.svg|class=skin-invert-image|8px]]}} represented a [[voiced velar fricative]] from 1895 to 1900.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Association phonétique internationale|date=January 1895|title=vɔt syr l alfabɛ|trans-title=Votes sur l'alphabet|journal=Le Maître Phonétique|volume=10|issue=1|pages=16–17|jstor=44707535}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Association phonétique internationale|date=February–March 1900|title=akt ɔfisjɛl|trans-title=Acte officiel|journal=Le Maître Phonétique|volume=15|issue=2/3|page=20|jstor=44701257}}</ref> In 1948, the Council of the [[International Phonetic Association]] recognized {{angbr IPA|ɡ}} and {{angbr|[[File:Looptail g.svg|class=skin-invert-image|8px]]}} as typographic equivalents,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jones|first=Daniel|date=July–December 1948|title=desizjɔ̃ ofisjɛl|trans-title=Décisions officielles|journal=Le Maître Phonétique|volume=26 (63)|issue=90|pages=28–30|jstor=44705217}}</ref> and this decision was reaffirmed in 1993.<ref>{{cite journal|author=International Phonetic Association|year=1993|title=Council actions on revisions of the IPA|journal=[[Journal of the International Phonetic Association]]|volume=23|issue=1|pages=32–34|doi=10.1017/S002510030000476X|s2cid=249420050 }}</ref> While the 1949 ''Principles of the International Phonetic Association'' recommended the use of {{angbr|[[File:Looptail g.svg|class=skin-invert-image|8px]]}} for a velar plosive and {{angbr IPA|ɡ}} for an advanced one for languages where it is preferable to distinguish the two, such as Russian,<ref>{{cite book|author=International Phonetic Association|year=1949|title=The Principles of the International Phonetic Association|publisher=Department of Phonetics, [[University College, London]]|jstor=i40200179|at=Supplement to ''Le Maître Phonétique'' 91, January–June 1949}}
* Reprinted in ''Journal of the International Phonetic Association'' 40 (3), December 2010, pp.&nbsp;299–358, {{doi|10.1017/S0025100311000089}}.</ref> this practice never caught on.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wells|first=John C.|date=6 November 2006|url=https://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/blog0611a.htm|title=Scenes from IPA history|work=John Wells's phonetic blog|publisher=Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, University College London|access-date=29 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613022900/http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/blog0611a.htm|archive-date=13 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The 1999 ''Handbook of the International Phonetic Association'', the successor to the ''Principles'', abandoned the recommendation and acknowledged both shapes as acceptable variants.<ref>{{cite book|author=International Phonetic Association|year=1999|title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet|location=Cambridge|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=0-521-63751-1|page=19}}</ref>

In 2018, a study found that native English speakers have little conscious awareness of the looptail form {{nowrap|([[File:Looptail g.svg|class=skin-invert-image|8px]]).}} The authors write: "Despite being questioned repeatedly, and despite being informed directly that G has two lowercase print forms, nearly half of the participants failed to reveal any knowledge of the looptail 'g', and only 1 of the 38 participants was able to write looptail 'g' correctly".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wong|first1=Kimberly|last2=Wadee|first2=Frempongma|last3=Ellenblum|first3=Gali|last4=McCloskey|first4=Michael|title=The Devil's in the g-tails: Deficient letter-shape knowledge and awareness despite massive visual experience.|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance|volume=44|issue=9|pages=1324–1335|date=2 April 2018|doi=10.1037/xhp0000532|pmid=29608074|s2cid=4571477}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Dean|first1=Signe|title=Most People Don't Know What Lowercase 'G' Looks Like And We're Not Even Kidding|date=4 April 2018|url=https://www.sciencealert.com/lowercase-g-two-print-forms-looptail-opentail-writing-reading-comprehension|website=Science Alert|access-date=7 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408073304/https://www.sciencealert.com/lowercase-g-two-print-forms-looptail-opentail-writing-reading-comprehension|archive-date=8 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{clear}}

==Use in writing systems==
{{See also|Hard and soft G}}
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+ Pronunciation of {{angbr|g}} by language
! Orthography
! Phonemes
! Environment
|-
! [[Afrikaans phonology|Afrikaans]]
|{{IPAslink|χ}}
|
|-
! [[Romanization of Arabic|Arabic romanization]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|A dialectal sound not found in Standard Arabic. However, the digraph [[gh (digraph)|gh]] is used to romanize the Standard Arabic sound {{IPAslink|ɣ}}.
|-
! [[Azerbaijani language|Azeri]]
|{{IPAslink|ɟ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Catalan orthography|Catalan]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before e, i
|-
|/(d)ʒ/
|Before e, i
|-
!{{nwr|[[Standard Chinese]]}} ([[Pinyin]])
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Danish orthography|Danish]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|Except word-initially
|-
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Word-initially
|-
! [[Dutch orthography|Dutch]]
| {{IPAslink|ɣ}} or {{IPAslink|χ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="4" |[[English orthography|English]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Any
|-
|{{IPAslink|dʒ}}
|Before e, i, y
|-
|{{IPAslink|ʒ}}
|Before e, i in more recent loanwords from French
|-
|''silent''
|Some words, initial <gn>, and word-finally before a consonant
|-
! [[Esperanto]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="6" | [[Faroese orthography|Faroese]]
|{{IPAslink|j}}
|soft, lenited; see [[Faroese phonology]]
|-
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|hard
|-
|{{IPAslink|tʃ}}
|soft
|-
|{{IPAslink|v}}
|after a, æ, á, e, o, ø and before u
|-
|{{IPAslink|w}}
|after ó, u, ú and before a, i, or u
|-
|''silent''
|after a, æ, á, e, o, ø and before a
|-
! [[Fijian language|Fijian]]
|{{IPAslink|ŋ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[French orthography|French]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before e, i, y
|-
|{{IPAslink|ʒ}}
|Before e, i, y
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Galician language|Galician]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}} ~ {{IPAslink|ħ}}
|Except before e, i, see ''[[Gheada]]'' for consonant variation
|-
|{{IPAslink|ʃ}}
|Before e, i, obsolete, replaced by {{angbr|x}}
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Romanization of Greek|Greek romanization]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Ancient Greek
|-
|{{IPAslink|ɣ}}
|Modern Greek except before ai, e, i, oi, y
|-
|{{IPAslink|ʝ}}
|Modern Greek before ai, e, i, oi, y
|-
! rowspan="4" |[[Icelandic orthography|Icelandic]]
|{{IPAslink|c}}
|soft
|-
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|hard
|-
|{{IPAslink|ɣ}}
|hard, lenited; see [[Icelandic phonology]]
|-
|{{IPAslink|j}}
|soft, lenited
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Irish orthography|Irish]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except after i or before e, i
|-
|{{IPAslink|ɟ}}
|After i or before e, i
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Italian orthography|Italian]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before e, i
|-
|{{IPAslink|dʒ}}
|Before e, i
|-
! [[Malay orthography|Malay]]
|{{IPAslink|g}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Norman language|Norman]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before e, i
|-
|{{IPAslink|dʒ}}
|Before e, i
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Norwegian orthography|Norwegian]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before ei, i, j, øy, y
|-
|{{IPAslink|j}}
|Before ei, i, j, øy, y
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Portuguese orthography|Portuguese]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before e, i, y
|-
|{{IPAslink|ʒ}}
|Before e, i, y
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Romanian orthography|Romanian]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before e, i
|-
|{{IPAslink|dʒ}}
|Before e, i
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Romansh language|Romansh]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before e, i
|-
|{{IPAslink|dʑ}}
|Before e, i
|-
! [[Samoan language|Samoan]]
|{{IPAslink|ŋ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Scottish Gaelic]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|Except after i or before e, i
|-
|{{IPAslink|kʲ}}
|After i or before e, i
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Spanish orthography|Spanish]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before e, i, y
|-
|{{IPAslink|x}} ~ {{IPAslink|h}}
|Before e, i, y
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Swedish orthography|Swedish]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before ä, e, i, ö, y
|-
|{{IPAslink|j}}
|Before ä, e, i, ö, y
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Turkish alphabet|Turkish]]
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|Except before e, i, ö, ü
|-
|{{IPAslink|ɟ}}
|Before e, i, ö, ü
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Vietnamese alphabet|Vietnamese]]
|{{IPAslink|ɣ}}
|
|-
|/[[Voiced alveolar fricative|z]]/ ~ /[[Voiced palatal approximant|j]]/
|Before i
|}

===English===
In English, the letter appears either alone or in some [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]].  Alone, it represents
* a [[voiced velar plosive]] ({{IPA|/ɡ/}} or "hard" {{angbr|g}}), as in ''goose'', ''gargoyle'', and ''game'';
* a [[voiced palato-alveolar affricate]] ({{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} or "soft" {{angbr|g}}), predominates before {{angbr|i}}, {{angbr|e}} or {{angbr|y}}, as in ''giant'', ''ginger'', and ''geology''; or
* a [[voiced palato-alveolar sibilant]] ({{IPA|/ʒ/}}) in post-medieval loanwords from French, such as ''rouge'', ''beige'', ''genre'' (often), and ''[[margarine]]'' (rarely)

{{angbr|g}} is predominantly soft before {{angbr|e}} (including the digraphs {{angbr|ae}} and {{angbr|oe}}), {{angbr|i}}, or {{angbr|y}}, and hard otherwise. It is hard in those derivations from ''[[wikt:γυνή|γυνή]] (gynḗ)'' meaning woman where initial-worded as such. Soft {{angbr|g}} is also used in many words that came into English from medieval church/academic use, French, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese &ndash; these tend to, in other ways in English, closely align to their Ancient Latin and Greek roots (such as  ''[[wikt:fragile|fragile]]'', ''[[logic]]'' or ''[[Magic (supernatural)|magic]]'').
There remain widely used a few English words of non-Romance origin where {{angbr|g}} is hard followed by {{angbr|e}} or {{angbr|i}} (''get'', ''give'', ''gift'', ''gig'', ''girl'', ''giggle''), and very few in which {{angbr|g}} is soft though followed by {{angbr|a}} such as ''[[gaol]]'', which since the 20th century is almost always written as "jail". The word ''fungi'', although from Romance origin, is pronounced with a hard {{angbr|g}}.

The double consonant {{angbr|[[Dg (digraph)|gg]]}} has the value {{IPA|/ɡ/}} (hard {{angbr|g}}) as in ''nugget'', with very few exceptions: {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} in ''exaggerate'' and ''veggies'' and dialectally {{IPA|/ɡd͡ʒ/}} in ''suggest''.

The digraph {{angbr|[[Dg (digraph)|dg]]}} has the value {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} (soft {{angbr|g}}), as in ''badger''. Non-digraph {{angbr|dg}} can also occur, in compounds like ''floodgate'' and ''headgear''.

The digraph {{angbr|[[Ng (digraph)#N|ng]]}} may represent:
* a [[velar nasal]] ({{IPAc-en|ŋ}}) as in ''length'', ''singer''
* the latter followed by hard {{angbr|g}} ({{IPA|/ŋɡ/}}) as in ''jungle'', ''finger'', ''longest''
Non-digraph {{angbr|ng}} also occurs, with possible values
* {{IPA|/nɡ/}} as in ''engulf'', ''ungainly''
* {{IPA|/nd͡ʒ/}} as in ''sponge'', ''angel''
* {{IPA|/nʒ/}} as in ''melange''

The digraph {{angbr|[[Gh (digraph)|gh]]}} (in many cases a replacement for the obsolete letter [[yogh]], which took various values including {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, {{IPA|/ɣ/}}, {{IPA|/x/}} and {{IPA|/j/}}) may represent:
* {{IPA|/ɡ/}} as in ''ghost'', ''aghast'', ''burgher'', ''spaghetti''
* {{IPA|/f/}} as in ''cough'', ''laugh'', ''roughage''
* ∅ (no sound) as in ''through'', ''neighbor'', ''night'' 
* {{IPA|/x/}} in ''ugh''
* (rarely) {{IPA|/p/}} in ''hiccough''
* (rarely) {{IPA|/k/}} in ''[[wikt:s'ghetti|s'ghetti]]''
Non-digraph {{angbr|gh}} also occurs, in compounds like ''foghorn'', ''pigheaded''.

The digraph {{angbr|[[Dg (digraph)|gn]]}} may represent:
* {{IPA|/n/}} as in ''gnostic'', ''deign'', ''foreigner'', ''signage''
* {{IPA|/nj/}} in loanwords like ''champignon'', ''lasagna''
Non-digraph {{angbr|gn}} also occurs, as in ''signature'', ''agnostic''.

The trigraph {{angbr|ngh}} has the value {{IPA|/ŋ/}} as in ''gingham'' or ''dinghy''. Non-trigraph {{angbr|ngh}} also occurs, in compounds like ''stronghold'' and ''dunghill''.

G is the [[Letter frequency|tenth least frequently used letter]] in the English language (after [[Y]], [[P]], [[B]], [[V]], [[K]], [[J]], [[X]], [[Q]], and [[Z]]), with a frequency of about 2.02% in words.

===Other languages===
Most [[Romance languages]] and some [[Scandinavian languages]] also have two main pronunciations for {{angbr|g}}, hard and soft. While the soft value of {{angbr|g}} varies in different Romance languages ({{IPA|/ʒ/}} in [[French language|French]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], {{IPA|[(d)ʒ]}} in [[Catalan language|Catalan]], {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} in [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Romanian language|Romanian]], and {{IPA|/x/}} in most dialects of [[Spanish language|Spanish]]), in all except Romanian and Italian, soft {{angbr|g}} has the same pronunciation as the {{angbr|j}}.

In Italian and Romanian, {{angbr|gh}} is used to represent {{IPA|/ɡ/}} before front vowels where {{angbr|g}} would otherwise represent a soft value. In Italian and French, {{angbr|[[Gn (digraph)|gn]]}} is used to represent the [[palatal nasal]] {{IPA|/ɲ/}}, a sound somewhat similar to the {{angbr|ny}} in English ''canyon''. In Italian, the [[Trigraph (orthography)|trigraph]] {{angbr|gli}}, when appearing before a vowel or as the article and pronoun ''[[wikt:gli|gli]]'', represents the [[palatal lateral approximant]] {{IPA|/ʎ/}}. Other languages typically use {{angbr|g}} to represent {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, regardless of position.

Amongst European languages, [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Estonian language|Estonian]] and [[Finnish language|Finnish]] are exceptions, as they do not have {{IPA|/ɡ/}} in their native words. In [[Dutch language|Dutch]], {{angbr|g}} represents a [[voiced velar fricative]] {{IPA|/ɣ/}} instead, a sound that does not occur in modern English, but there is a dialectal variation: many Netherlandic dialects use a voiceless fricative ({{IPA|[x]}} or {{IPA|[χ]}}) instead, and in southern dialects it may be palatal {{IPA|[ʝ]}}. Nevertheless, word-finally, it is always voiceless in all dialects, including the standard Dutch of Belgium and the Netherlands. On the other hand, some dialects (like [[Amelands]]) may have a phonemic {{IPA|/ɡ/}}.

[[Faroese language|Faroese]] uses {{angbr|g}} to represent {{IPA|/dʒ/}}, in addition to {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, and also uses it to indicate a [[semivowel|glide]].

In [[Māori language|Māori]], {{angbr|g}} is used in the digraph {{angbr|ng}} which represents the [[velar nasal]] {{IPA|/ŋ/}} and is pronounced like the {{angbr|ng}} in ''singer''.

The [[Samoan language|Samoan]] and [[Fijian language|Fijian]] languages use the letter {{angbr|g}} by itself for {{IPA|/ŋ/}}.

In older [[Czech language|Czech]] and [[Slovak language|Slovak]] orthographies, {{angbr|g}} was used to represent {{IPA|/j/}}, while {{IPA|/ɡ/}} was written as {{angbr|ǧ}} ({{angbr|g}} with [[caron]]).

The [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]] Latin alphabet uses {{angbr|g}} exclusively for the "soft" sound, namely {{IPA|/ɟ/}}. The sound {{IPA|/ɡ/}} is written as {{angbr|q}}. This leads to unusual spellings of loanwords: ''qram'' 'gram', ''qrup'' 'group', ''qaraj'' 'garage', ''qallium'' 'gallium'.

===Other systems===
In the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]], {{angbr|ɡ}} represents the [[voiced velar plosive]]. The [[small caps]] {{angbr|ɢ}} represents the [[voiced uvular plosive]].

==Other uses==
{{main article|G (disambiguation)}}
* [[Unit prefix]] G, meaning 1,000,000,000 times.

==Related characters==
<!-- Please only list characters (symbols in a writing system, but not just convenience code points in Unicode) that are actually related in terms of origin to the letter that is the topic of this article. Characters that merely look subjectively similar need not apply. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sources before adding more. -->

===Ancestors, descendants and siblings===
* 𐤂 : [[Phoenician alphabet|Semitic]] letter [[Gimel]], from which the following symbols originally derive
* C c : Latin letter [[C]], from which G derives
* {{lang|el|Γ γ}} : [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] letter [[Gamma]], from which C derives in turn
* ɡ : Latin letter [[ɡ|script small G]]
* [[ᶢ]] : Modifier letter small script g is used for phonetic transcription<ref name="L204132">{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2004/04132-n2740-phonetic.pdf|title=L2/04-132 Proposal to add additional phonetic characters to the UCS|date=2004-04-19|first=Peter|last=Constable|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011014355/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2004/04132-n2740-phonetic.pdf|archive-date=2017-10-11|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 𝼁 : Latin small letter reversed script g, an [[Extensions to the International Phonetic Alphabet|extension to IPA]] for disordered speech (extIPA)<ref name="L220116">{{Cite web|title=L2/20-116R: Expansion of the extIPA and VoQS|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20116r-ext-ipa-voqs-expansion.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024034839/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20116r-ext-ipa-voqs-expansion.pdf |archive-date=2020-10-24 |url-status=live|date=2020-07-11|first1=Kirk|last1=Miller|first2=Martin|last2=Ball}}</ref><ref name="L221021">{{Cite web|title=L2/21-021: Reference doc numbers for L2/20-266R "Consolidated code chart of proposed phonetic characters" and IPA etc. code point and name changes|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2021/21021-consolidated-ipa.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108092102/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2021/21021-consolidated-ipa.pdf |archive-date=2021-01-08 |url-status=live|date=2020-12-07|first=Deborah|last=Anderson}}</ref>
* ᵷ : [[Turned g]]
* 𝼂 : Latin letter small capital turned g, an [[Extensions to the International Phonetic Alphabet|extension to IPA]] for disordered speech (extIPA)<ref name="L220116" /><ref name="L221021" />
* Г г : [[Cyrillic]] letter [[Ge (Cyrillic)|Ge]]
* Ȝ ȝ : Latin letter [[Ȝ|Yogh]]
* Ɣ ɣ : Latin letter [[Latin gamma|Gamma]]
* Ᵹ ᵹ : [[Insular g]]
* ᫌ : Combining insular g, used in the [[Ormulum]]<ref name="L220268">{{Cite web|title=L2/20-268: Revised proposal to add ten characters for Middle English to the UCS|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20268-n5145-ormulum.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024033958/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20268-n5145-ormulum.pdf |archive-date=2020-10-24 |url-status=live|date=2020-10-05|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|first2=Andrew|last2=West}}</ref>
* Ꝿ ꝿ : Turned insular g
* Ꟑ ꟑ : Closed insular g, used in the [[Ormulum]]<ref name="L220268" />
* ɢ : Latin letter small capital G, used in the International Phonetic Alphabet to represent a [[voiced uvular stop]]
* 𐞒 : Modifier letter small capital G, used as a [[International Phonetic Alphabet#Superscript IPA|superscript IPA letter]]<ref name="L220252">{{Cite web|title=L2/20-252R: Unicode request for IPA modifier-letters (a), pulmonic|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20252r-mod-ipa-a.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730010133/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20252r-mod-ipa-a.pdf |archive-date=2021-07-30 |url-status=live|date=2020-11-08|first1=Kirk|last1=Miller|first2=Michael|last2=Ashby}}</ref>
* ʛ : Latin letter small capital G with hook, used in the International Phonetic Alphabet to represent a [[voiced uvular implosive]]
* 𐞔 : Modifier letter small capital G with hook, used as a [[International Phonetic Alphabet#Superscript IPA|superscript IPA letter]]<ref name="L220252" />
* 𐞓 : Modifier letter small g with hook, used as a [[International Phonetic Alphabet#Superscript IPA|superscript IPA letter]]<ref name="L220252" />
* {{not a typo|ᴳ ᵍ}}: Modifier letters are used in the [[Uralic Phonetic Alphabet]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02141-n2419-uralic-phonetic.pdf|title=L2/02-141: Uralic Phonetic Alphabet characters for the UCS|date=2002-03-20|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|author-link1=Michael Everson|display-authors=etal|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219081033/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02141-n2419-uralic-phonetic.pdf|archive-date=2018-02-19|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ꬶ : Used for the [[Teuthonista]] phonetic transcription system<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2011/11202-n4081-teuthonista.pdf|title=L2/11-202: Revised proposal to encode "Teuthonista" phonetic characters in the UCS|date=2011-06-02|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|first2=Alois|last2=Dicklberger|first3=Karl|last3=Pentzlin|first4=Eveline|last4=Wandl-Vogt|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011012426/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2011/11202-n4081-teuthonista.pdf|archive-date=2017-10-11|url-status=live}}</ref>
* G with [[diacritic]]s: [[Ǵ|Ǵ ǵ]] [[G with stroke|Ǥ ǥ]] [[Ĝ|Ĝ ĝ]] [[Ǧ|Ǧ ǧ]] [[Ğ|Ğ ğ]] [[Cedilla|Ģ ģ]] [[Ɠ|Ɠ ɠ]] [[Ġ|Ġ ġ]] [[Ḡ|Ḡ ḡ]] [[Ꞡ|Ꞡ ꞡ]] [[ᶃ]]
*ց : Armenian alphabet [[Co (Armenian letter)|Tso]]

===Ligatures and abbreviations===
* {{char|₲}} - [[Paraguayan guaraní]]
* {{char|㎏}} - the [[kilogram]] symbol as a single character in the [[CJK Compatibility]] block

==Other representations==
=== Computing <span class="anchor" id="Unicode"></span> <span class="anchor" id="Computing codes"></span>===

The principal forms of the letter have [[codepoint]]s in [[Unicode]] as listed below. The ASCII codes for G and g are the same as the Unicode codepoints:

* {{unichar| 0047}}
* {{unichar| 0067}} 
* {{unichar| 0261 }} 
* {{unichar| A7AC }}
* {{unichar| FF27 }}
* {{unichar| FF47}}

In addition, there are many forms of 'G with a [[diacritic]]', encoded either as a [[precomposed character]] or using a [[combining diacritic]].

===Other===
{{Letter other reps
|NATO=Golf
|Morse=––·
|Character=G7
|Braille=⠛
|fingerspelling=G
}}
{{clear}}

==See also==
* [[Carolingian G]]
* [[Hard and soft G]]
* {{section link|Latin letters used in mathematics|Gg}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|G}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|g}}
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3D%2319181 Lewis and Short ''Latin Dictionary'': G]

{{Latin script|G|}}

[[Category:ISO basic Latin letters]]