Does "Z" ever make the "Z" sound in Spanish like it does in English?

Question

Does "Z" ever make the "Z" sound in Spanish like it does in English'

Answer 1

The "z" usually sounds like an "s", though in some spanish speaking countries (like Spain) it sounds like "th".

Answer 2

So then casar and cazar would sound exactly the same. I wouldn't no if someone was getting married or hunting.

Answer 3

It's all about the context... and with regards to hunting and getting married... there really isn't that much of a difference anyway.

Answer 4

Does "Z" ever make the "Z" sound in Spanish like it does in English?

Short answer: No. That sound does not exist in Spanish.

So then casar and cazar would sound exactly the same. I wouldn't no if someone was getting married or hunting.

Correct... except in some parts of Spain, where they sound completely differently. The typical joke:

Me voy a cazar = I am going hunting
Me voy a casar = I am getting married

Although pronouncing the z like an s is what most speakers do worldwide, the Castillian Spanish pronunciation, that differentiates between s and z, is more convenient for people to learn this first, because not only helps avoiding spelling mistakes, but it helps to differentiate between several pairs of words:

siervo = servant
ciervo = deer

casa = house
caza = hunt

ase = cook
hace = makes

serrar = to saw
cerrar = to close

To change all z into s is very easy. Anyone can do it.

Answer 5

So then casar and cazar would sound exactly the same. I wouldn't know if someone was getting married or hunting.

Seems apropos for a discussion on pronunciation and spelling.!

Answer 6

Does "Z" ever make the "Z" sound in Spanish like it does in English?

Short answer: No. That sound does not exist in Spanish.

The "z" sound does exist in Spanish, even if it never appears as the letter "z". You can hear it in words like "desde" and "mismo".