LingoflyΤζ τζ — taf-zita
«taf-zita» is a digraph of the Greek script, read as “a voiced dz, close to j as in "jam"”. One fused dz, close to the j of "jam". For example, in the word “τζατζίκι” (dzadzíki) — a sauce. The Greek alphabet has 24 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. This character does not count as a letter of the alphabet. The partner of τσ: the same place in the mouth, but with a voice. Borrowed j sounds are written with it too: τζαζ — jazz.
In short
| Character | Τζ τζ |
| Name | taf-zita |
| Sound | a voiced dz, close to j as in "jam" |
| What it is | a digraph |
In our course the character comes 35th of 37: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are τσ and ΄, appears in 12 words of this site.
How to type Τζ τζ
- On a phone: add the Greek keyboard in the keyboard settings (Gboard on Android; Keyboards in the iPhone settings).
- In Word on Windows: type the codes U+03C4, U+03B6 one at a time, pressing Alt+X after each.
- On a Mac: switch to the Unicode Hex Input source and, holding Option, type the codes 03C4, 03B6 in a row.
- Unicode code points: τζ — U+03C4 U+03B6, Τζ — U+03A4 U+03B6. With them, the characters can be found in the character map of any system.
How it sounds
One fused dz, close to the j of "jam"
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- τζατζίκιdzadzíkia sauce
The character in the “letter pairs” group
Eleven pairs of letters read as one sound. Nothing can be read without them: Greek has no separate letters for the oo, b, d and g sounds at all. They are written with the pairs ου, μπ, ντ, γκ.
- Αι αιe as in "met", written αιalfa-iota
- Ει ειee as in "see", written ειepsilon-iota
- Οι οιee as in "see", written οιomikron-iota
- Ου ουoo as in "food"omikron-ipsilon
- Αυ αυav or af, decided by the next soundalfa-ipsilon
- Ευ ευev or ef, decided by the next soundepsilon-ipsilon
- Μπ μπb as in "book"mi-pi
- Ντ ντd as in "door"ni-taf
- Γκ γκg as in "go"gama-kapa
- Τσ τσts as in "cats"taf-sigma
Words with this character
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «taf-zita» it is “a voiced dz, close to j as in "jam"”, as in the word “τζατζίκι” (dzadzíki)), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 24 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Greek character τζ read?
As “a voiced dz, close to j as in "jam"” — it is a digraph of the Greek script. One fused dz, close to the j of "jam". For example, in the word “τζατζίκι” (dzadzíki) — a sauce.
What is the sign τζ called?
Taf-zita. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Greek script: it is called “taf-zita” and reads as “a voiced dz, close to j as in "jam"”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.