[1] The common Slavic voiced velar plosive [ɡ] is represented in most Cyrillic orthographies by ⟨Г⟩, called ге, ge, in most languages.

The use of the letter was not confined to the Old- and Middle-Ukrainian-speaking territory, and there was a fully-fledged use in the 16th-century printer Pyotr Mstislavets's edition of The Four Gospels.

[6] In Belarusian, the plosive realization of the Proto-Slavic voiced velar plosive has been preserved root-internally in the consonant clusters ⟨зг⟩, ⟨жг⟩, ⟨дзг⟩, and ⟨джг⟩ (in words such as мазгі [mazˈɡi], вэдзгаць [ˈvɛdzɡatsʲ] or джгаць [ˈdʐɡatsʲ] but not on a morphological boundary, as in згадаць [zɣaˈdatsʲ], in which /z/ is a prefix).

In the 20th century, some Belarusian linguists, notably Jan Stankievič, promoted both the reintroduction of the practice of pronouncing Latin ⟨g⟩, at least in newly assimilated words, and the adoption of the letter ⟨ґ⟩ to represent it.

For example, a code of alternative Belarusian orthography rules, based on the proposal of Vincuk Viačorka and published in 2005, has the optional letter ⟨ґ⟩ included in the alphabet, but it can be replaced by ⟨г⟩.

[8][9] In A. Jelsky's publication in 1895, a new sign was introduced for the fricative /ɣ/ inherent in the Belarusian language, in contrast to the Russian breakthrough [g].

G When adopting foreign proper names, explosive /g/ can be transmitted through a letter ґ (“ґе”): Ґіём, Ґасконь etc.

This assimilation is not reflected in writing, so the letter к is used in this case: анэкдот, вакзал, пакгаўз, экзамэн, эксгумацыя.

It is still the rarest letter of the Ukrainian language, used only in a handful of native and long-borrowed words and toponyms of Ukraine.

In Ukrainian and long-borrowed/Ukrainianized words: а́ґрус, ґа́ва, ґа́зда́, ґандж, ґа́нок, ґату́нок, ґвалт, ґе́ґати, ґедзь, ґелґота́ти, ґелґотіти, ґерґелі, ґерґота́ти, ґерґоті́ти, ґи́ґнути, ґирли́ґа, ґлей, ґніт (in the lamp), ґо́ґель-мо́ґель, ґонт(а), ґрасува́ти, ґра́ти (noun), ґре́чний, ґринджо́ли, ґрунт, ґу́дзик, ґу́ля, ґура́льня, джиґу́н, дзи́ґа, дзи́ґлик, дриґа́ти і дри́ґати, ремиґа́ти etc.

In proper names — toponyms of Ukraine: Ґорґа́ни (massif), Ґоро́нда, У́ґля (villages in Zakarpattia), in the surnames of Ukrainians: Ґалаґа́н, Ґалято́вський, Ґе́ник, Ґерза́нич, Ґерда́н, Ґжи́цький, Ґи́ґа, Ґо́ґа, Ґо́йдич, Ґо́нта, Ґри́ґа, Ґудзь, Ґу́ла, Лома́ґа.

The letter ґ conveys the sound /g/ in long-borrowed common names, such as ґа́нок, ґатунок, ґвалт, ґра́ти, ґрунт, etc.