I have been struggling to figure out the difference between Z and G pronunciation. Most of the time I try to say "G" but the listener thinks its Z. Also I can't really tell if the speaker is saying G or Z. 

Do you guys have this problem too? I really need to figure this out.  I tried to google it but was not able to find anything helpful.

Any suggestions??

I have problem pronuncing Z ..tried many times didnt' seems to work ..

Try pronouncing this:
zzzzzzzzzz

Now try this:
GGGGGGGGGG

Did you note the difference? 'Z' pronounciation has the tongue closer to teeth than 'G'.

Bravo stiffler ...... You're post are awesome ; just ignore it this time though...i tried pronouncing zed and zee ; well; I'm retarded.. Can't even comprehend... Well,bro; keep up the good work...

This is where ur relationship with a native English speaker comes real handy I reckon..and it took her a whole damn week to convince me that I was not pronouncing it right and one more week to get it fixed..she took a complete different approach but let me give it some Nepali touch... Let just assume here there is only one alphabet among those 2 and it's "g". You know how to pronounce it right??? Okey now pronounce "g"as hari bahadur would do it, and again try to pronounce the same 'g' as Rajesh hamal would have done it. The first one was your G and the latter was one your Z.

It's just my opinion though :)

a simple thing..
when we say "zee"....."zi" -----> z
and say Gin----thats how we pronounce it "g" ...this one should sound lighter than the former one..

or u can say
"z" as in zebra and
"g" as in george
just incase  someone cannot figure out whether u are saying "g" or "z"

keep practicing...

At least we are better at pronouncing English syllables than Japanese who mix up "R" and "L" or Indians who do the same with "V" and "W".


Slightly off topic, but I have noticed some Nepalis pronounce some words differently than Americans for some reason.  Here are few examples:

Pizza: Americans say Pichhjjaa.  Nepalis say Peeejhaa.
Development:  Americans say D'vay-lopmnt.  Nepalis say Day-Vay-Lop-Myent.
Dallas: Americans say Da-lus.  Nepalis say D'LLaaas.
Salmon: American say Sa-mun (nasal, silent L).  Nepais say Saal-mun (kinda like Salman Khan)

It would not be entirely correct to say one pronunciation is better than the other.  Perhaps these unique ways of enunciation give people more character.

Hehe. reminds me of one particular guy who put extra emphasis on his 'M's and 'X's pronouncing them as so:

M = YUM
N = YUN
X = YUX

 Dekchi, most people in Kathmandu used to pronounce alphabets like that.  After the influx of teachers from Darjeeling in mid to late 80's, that started to change.

The main difference is

Z is a Dirgha...when you say Z you say nepali JHEE ( when you do this your lips are positioned as "brushing your teeth" , The upper teeth and lower teeth almost touch each other and your tounge is positioned right between your lower and upper teeth but not touching them

G is a Rashwa..when you like Ja lai eekar Ji ( when you say this your lips come forward, Like a pigs lips jasto bhanchan ni nepal ma and also your tounge touhes the talu of your mouth with lips appearing as sungur ko thutuno jasto.....i hope this helps.

I had trouble saying those letters for 10 years...did not even know i had problem saying these letters until my African co worker started making fun of me cos i could not say Jay Z properly.

If you can say JAY Z correctly, you have mastered it....lol

This reminds me of a thread i created sometime ago...addressing the issue of us Nepalese not knowing how to prounce our own words. I see many nepalese not even knowing the difference between.

Hit and Heat ( Rashwa Dirgha)

Own and Won ( O and Wo )

Yes and S  (  Yes and Es)

Hut and Hot ( a and aa)

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1074955/kbrs_ambitions_and_nepali_laborers.html?cat=9

i appreciate ur comments and i liked the way u presented. that helped me alot.

 Thank you all for your valuable suggestions and advice!
Sidster,
Really appreciate your comments. One of my friend said the same thing as you that when you say G your lips should come forward like sungur ko mukh!  I am not sure if I can do that. I tried but  it doesn't seem to work. Lips go sideways instead of forwared when I say G.

Try listening from dictionary.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnXUl2e2Np0

This video could be helpful. Pay attention to her lips and tounge movement for each letters. You may find lot more words other than G and Z that you may need to work on. I have seen most Nepali mess up the letter F as well...its funny how some people cannot pronounce FISH.. i have heard.. Fis, Fees, Pish, Feesh, for a FISH. The word Fish has a F vs Ph, rashwa vs dirgha,,and sano vs thulo sa/Sha issue....most folks miss atleast one of the sound on the word FISH.

  title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LnXUl2e2Np0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen

For me, I know the difference between G and Z but cant pronounce G properly.. when I try to pronounce G, it sounds like Z. I know the difference but cant get the G at one shot while talking. I realize the mistake but ...