"z" sound, which to choose?


I've read about if "z" sound is pronounced /z/ or /dz/ and found the answer
here that:

> Typically, though not consistently, [dz] occurs at the beginning of a word
> or in the middle of a word immediately following a syllable-final consonant
> (§5.1, §5.6), and [z] occurs in the middle of a word immediately following a
> vowel.

So I thought: okay I need to just remember which word uses which sound. Then I
heard native speakers saying:

> 絶対にだめです。with /z/ sound
>
> そんなことは絶対できないじょ。 with /dz/ sound

So seems like the SAME word can have both pronunciations, depending on person?

My question is should I care at all? Maybe I should choose one sound /z/ or
/dz/ and use it in every word? Will everyone be able to understand me?

Thanks for help :)




You do not have to remember which word uses which. If you wish, you can stick
to either [dz] or [z], and everyone will understand you. If you care, it may
be better to follow the rule described in [the answer you
saw](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/18095/5010). As the answer says, in
modern standard Japanese, [dz] and [z] are the variants (allophones) of the
same sound (phoneme). That is, even if you may hear a native Japanese speaker
say both [dz] and [z] depending on the situation, they are usually totally
unaware of this fact, and they cannot even hear the difference. Please read
the following questions.

  * [Why doesn't Japanese have a special Katakana form for "hu"?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/16266/5010)
  * [Why do Japanese speakers have difficulty pronouncing "L"?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/8324/5010)

> You'll find the same thing with z/dz. Ask a Japanese if you should say
> zettai (with a z) and they'll say yes. Ask again if it's dzettai (with dz)
> and they'll also say yes. Ask which they prefer and they'll tell you they
> only heard one pronunciation, even though you clearly said z in one case and
> dz in the other.

  * [Confusion with pronounciation in some words: 'm' and 'n' sounds when there is 'g'](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/54535/5010)

Actually, [dz] and [z] were distinguished in old Japanese, and the distinction
is still more or less preserved in some dialects (see
[Yotsugana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yotsugana)). But this is not
something ordinary speakers need to worry about.




You do not have to remember which word uses which. If you wish, you can stick
to either [dz] or [z], and everyone will understand you. If you care, it may
be better to follow the rule described in [the answer you
saw](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/18095/5010). As the answer says, in
modern standard Japanese, [dz] and [z] are the variants (allophones) of the
same sound (phoneme). That is, even if you may hear a native Japanese speaker
say both [dz] and [z] depending on the situation, they are usually totally
unaware of this fact, and they cannot even hear the difference. Please read
the following questions.

  * [Why doesn't Japanese have a special Katakana form for "hu"?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/16266/5010)
  * [Why do Japanese speakers have difficulty pronouncing "L"?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/8324/5010)

> You'll find the same thing with z/dz. Ask a Japanese if you should say
> zettai (with a z) and they'll say yes. Ask again if it's dzettai (with dz)
> and they'll also say yes. Ask which they prefer and they'll tell you they
> only heard one pronunciation, even though you clearly said z in one case and
> dz in the other.

  * [Confusion with pronounciation in some words: 'm' and 'n' sounds when there is 'g'](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/54535/5010)

Actually, [dz] and [z] were distinguished in old Japanese, and the distinction
is still more or less preserved in some dialects (see
[Yotsugana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yotsugana)). But this is not
something ordinary speakers need to worry about.

