When is C soft?

Question

Sometimes the letter C is hard and sometimes it is soft. Which is which and how can I know when it is hard or soft?

Answer 1

When the letter "c" sounds like an "s", it is said to be a soft sound, such as in the words "cedar" or "cider" or "cypher". When the letter "c" sounds like a "k" it is said to be a hard sound, such as in the words "cat" or "coffee" or "cup".

Generally, (although there are always exceptions) a "c" will be soft when it is followed by the letters e, i or y.

The same rule applies to the letter g.

Answer 2

When "c" makes a sound like "K" it is a hard sound. This occurs in words like Cookie, Cake, Collapse, and Cold. When "c" makes a sound like "s" it is a soft sound. This happens in words like Cemetery, Cellar, Face, and Celebrate. Some words have both of these sounds in them, such as Circus, Cancel, and Convince. Just remember, if the C sounds like a K it is hard, if it sounds like S then it's soft!

Answer 3

There are hard vowels and soft vowels which influence the consonants which go before them. The hard vowels are a,o and u. The soft vowels are e,i and y.

1. Hard c /k/, followed by a,o or u such as: cat, cot, cup
2. Soft c /s/, followed by e,i or y such as: cellebrate, circle, cycle

There are other letters which follow this pattern, including g.

1. Hard g /g/: gate, goat, gum
2. Soft g /j/: general, giraffe, gym

As always there are words which don't follow this rule but this is the easiest way to attempt reading unknown words.