What's the difference between "sa" and "za" with pronunciation?


## Background

I am currently trying to learn Japanese and I've done really well in my
opinion (IMO). I am trying to learn about voiced consonants with Hiragana.

## What I need to know

I know you must have a vibration in your throat when doing these voiced
consonants but is sa (さ) and za ambiguous? How do I pronounce za?




"sa" is pronounced like the "sa" in "salami" or "salsa" and "za" is pronounced
with the same "z" sound at the beginning of " **Z** oo", " **Z** ipper" or "
**Z** ebra" plus "ah"

it's possible that one thing that might be confusing you is the way that some
Japanese words that start with an "s" sound are changed to a "z" sound when
combined with other words... for exmaple "sushi" and "inarizushi" or "sen"
(thousand) and "nanzennen" (thousands of years) "saru" and "nihonzaru".

You should be able to hear the differences between sa/za se/ze su/zu if you
listen carefully, but if you still have trouble, just remember that 'z' sounds
cause your throat to vibrate, and 's' sounds do not... you can place your hand
on your throat to feel the difference.

