Learning Hard and Soft C and G Rules!

Hard and Soft C and G

The letters c and g can make spelling tricky!
Each of these letters has a hard sound:
hard c sound (kuh): cat, cup
hard g sound (guh): gap, goat

soft c sound (suh): cell, city
soft g sound (juh): gerbil, gym

Usually, c or g sound is hard or soft depending on the vowel that follows it.

RULE FOR HARD C OR G

When the letter C, OR the letter G, meets a, o, or u, its sound is hard.


hard = a, o, u

HARD C: cap, cave /colt, comedy / curly, cuddle

HARD G: gas, gather /goblet, goddess / gum, gutter

RULE FOR SOFT C OR G

When the letter C, OR the letter G, meets e, i, or y, its sound is soft.

soft = e, i, y

SOFT C: census, center /circle, citizen /cycle, cymbal

SOFT G: gel, general / giant, ginger / gypsy, gyrate