In standard English spelling, the letter j usually represents the sound heard in words like jam, joke, and jump. That is why “marijuana” stands out. In common pronunciation, its j is not read as an English j sound. Instead, it reflects the Spanish consonant in marihuana, which is pronounced more like an English h.
This is why people sometimes say it is the only common English word with a silent j. That claim is a handy way to notice how unusual the spelling feels in English, though it is really a borrowing shaped by Spanish. So the letter is not truly silent in its original language history, but it does not behave the way English readers expect.
Compare these examples:
- Typical English j: Jane told a joke.
- Unusual case: Some older texts spell it “marijuana,” while Spanish often uses “marihuana.”
The larger lesson is that English keeps many borrowed spellings. When a word comes from another language, its letters may preserve older pronunciation patterns that do not match normal English rules.