“And the price goes to…” — Wait. I meant prize. One is money 💰. The other is a trophy 🏆. One letter difference, but two very different moments. 😅
At an awards ceremony, the announcer said:
“And the price goes to… Team Alpha!”
People looked confused. The price? How much does it cost? 💰
He meant the prize! The award! The trophy! 🏆
Price = how much something costs. Prize = an award you win. One has S, the other has Z.
S and Z use the exact same mouth position. Your tongue is in the same place. The only difference? Your throat.
S = air only. No voice. Like a snake. 🐍 “Ssssss”
Z = air + voice buzzing. Like a bee. 🐝 “Zzzzz”
Try it: hold your hand on your throat.
Say “Ssssss” — no vibration. Just air.
Now say “Zzzzz” — you feel a buzz!
Same mouth. Same tongue. The ONLY difference is the buzz in your throat.
Here are the pairs that cause the most confusion:
💰 price /praɪs/ → 🏆 prize /praɪz/
🚌 bus /bʌs/ → 🐝 buzz /bʌz/
🧊 ice /aɪs/ → 👀 eyes /aɪz/
🐕 race /reɪs/ → ✊ raise /reɪz/
🧃 juice /dʒuːs/ → 🎵 Jews /dʒuːz/ (careful with this one!)
And the big one: the letter S itself is often pronounced as Z!
is → /ɪz/ (Z, not S!)
his → /hɪz/ (Z!)
was → /wɒz/ (Z!)
does → /dʌz/ (Z!)
has → /hæz/ (Z!)
Many of the most common English words spell S but pronounce Z!
✅ Quick Quiz
“Open your ______.” — ice /aɪs/ or eyes /aɪz/?
→ eyes /aɪz/! Throat buzzes at the end. 👀
Say “Ssssss” for 3 seconds. Now switch to “Zzzzz” without moving your tongue.
Feel the buzz turn on? That on/off switch is the only difference between S and Z. 🎯
📖 한국어 전체 번역 보기
시상식에서 “prize(상)”를 “price(가격)”라고 해서 혼란이 생겼어요. 한국어에는 Z 소리가 없어서 S와 구분이 어려워요. S와 Z는 입 모양이 완전히 같고, 유일한 차이는 목의 떨림(성대 진동)이에요.
S = 바람만 (뱀 소리 쉬쉬), Z = 바람+목 떨림 (벌 소리 즈즈). 그리고 놀라운 사실: is, his, was, does, has — 이 흔한 단어들은 S로 쓰지만 전부 Z로 발음해요!