pronunciation - Is there a rule to know when to pronounce letter c as a "soft c" (s) or "hard c" (k)?

Is there a rule that would help me to learn when to pronounce the letter c as an "s" sound or a "k" sound?

For example: - cat (kat)
- center (sinter)

Are there any rules, or is it all memorization?

Answer

Assuming you mean "pronounce" rather than spell, since it all depends on sounds, here are some simple rules to follow.

"c" is pronounced like "k" when it is not immediately followed by the letters "e", "i" or "y"

Examples:

Car, cat, cabin, curtail, curfew, curb, court, cool, mucus

---

"c" is pronounced like "s" when it comes directly before "e" or "i" or "y".

Examples:

city, cinch, certain, cyan, embrace, receive, dance

There are odd difficult words, like "soccer", where "double c" counts as a "k" sounds, and words like "muscle" where the "s" takes precedence, rendering the "c" unsounded.