How to pronounce "naranja".

Question

When listening to the translator pronounce "naranja" on SD, it sounds as if he is pronouncing "ja" as "ka". I was pronouncing it as "ha". Can someone please enlighten me as how to pronounce the "ja" syllable of naranja? Gracias

Answer 1

n-a-r-a-n-k-h-a spell in English and u will pronounce it right

Mucho gracias, royal1. - ob6u, Apr 21, 2013

I am sorry, that is not correct. jack is totally right. - chileno, Apr 21, 2013

Actually, if you listen to native pronunciations, he has a point. To me it sounds more like a "G", but it is just a deep english "H" sound. It is certainly not a simple sound as Jack says. - CaptainAwesome, Nov 14, 2015

Answer 2

There is no 'k' sound in 'naranja'

naranja[nah-rahn’-hah]

Mucho gracias, Jack. - ob6u, Apr 21, 2013

Answer 3

Pronunciation with a Castilian accent.

Answer 4

It could be that you are hearing a really guttural "j," which is commonly heard in Spain. You might be mistaking that guttural "j" for a "k" sound.

Also, I apologize for bumping this relatively older thread to the top. - Azabache, May 1, 2013

Answer 5

The 'j' in naranja is pronounced with a very soft guttural sound. In English, we don't have this sound and only use this sound to clear our throat, but many languages have this sound in varying degrees.

Close your throat a bit at the back and add some slight voicing to our English "h" sound and not as much voicing as something you'd hear in Dutch or German and you'll have it about right.