Quick answer
Г г is the hard g of “go”, before every vowel: гид, ге́ний. At the end of a word it devoices to k.
Гг
Гг
g
говори́тьto speak
How to say it
A hard g. Final position devoices: друг sounds like “drook”.
говори́тьto speak
годyear
гидguide
другfriend
гдеwhere
глазeye
The -ого exception
In the adjective endings -ого and -его, the Г is pronounced v: но́вого sounds like “novava”, его́ like “yevo”, сего́дня like “sevodnya”. The spelling is historical; the pronunciation is not optional.
его́his — “yevo”
сего́дняtoday — “sevodnya”
но́вогоnew (gen.) — “novava”
Not a j
Latin readers soften g before e and i. Russian never does: гид is “gueed”, ге́ний is “gueniy”. There is no soft-g sound in the language.
Typical mistakes
Reading его́ as “yego”
“yevo”
Г in -ого / -его is pronounced v.
Reading гид as “jid”
“gueed”
Г is always hard.
Check yourself
Which word contains Г?
говори́ть — to speak.