/ɡ/

Raise the back of your tongue (the dorsum) and press it firmly against the soft palate (velum) - that's the soft area at the very back of the roof of your mouth. Completely block the airflow, let pressure build briefly, then release. Your vocal cords must vibrate throughout. Touch your throat while saying "guh" - you should feel a buzz from start to finish.

Unlike bilabial /b/ or alveolar /d/, the /ɡ/ sound is made deep in the mouth. The small space back there fills with air quickly, which can make voicing harder to sustain - this is why /ɡ/ feels slightly more effortful than other voiced stops.

Both sounds use the exact same tongue position against the soft palate. The difference is voicing and aspiration:

• /ɡ/ is voiced (throat vibrates) with minimal aspiration
• /k/ is voiceless (no vibration) with a strong puff of air at word beginnings

Compare "gap" and "cap," "goat" and "coat." Hold a piece of paper near your mouth - it should flutter noticeably for "cap" but barely move for "gap."

In final position (like "bag," "dog," "league"), /ɡ/ naturally loses some voicing - even native speakers produce a partially devoiced sound. The critical cue is vowel length: the vowel before /ɡ/ is noticeably longer than before /k/. Compare "bag" (longer "a") versus "back" (shorter "a"). Focus on stretching that vowel rather than forcing voicing at the end.

Practice feeling the contrast: alternate between "go" and "co-" (as in "coat") several times. Notice your throat buzzing for /ɡ/ and the air burst for /k/. For minimal pairs like "bag/back" or "rug/ruck," exaggerate the vowel length difference until it becomes natural.