/ʃ/ — the /ʃ/ sound
the /ʃ/ sound
Consonants · Fricatives
This sound hasn't been scored yet.
How to make it
Tongue further back than for /s/, lips slightly rounded; the sound you make to hush someone.
Pairs with /ʒ/ — same mouth shape, only the voicing differs.
Watch a native speaker say it
See the mouth and tongue before you record — hearing a sound rarely tells you where the tongue goes.
Rachel's English · English Sounds - SH [ʃ] and ZH [ʒ] Consonants - How to make the SH and ZH Consonants Watch on YouTube
More videos
Words with this sound
Tap the speaker to hear a native speaker say it.
she
/ʃi/
shoe
/ʃuː/
show
/ʃoʊ/
dish
/dɪʃ/
fish
/fɪʃ/
ouch
/ˈaʊt͡ʃ/
push
/pʊʃ/
share
/ʃer/
sheep
/ʃiːp/
sheet
/ʃit/
shoes
/ʃuːz/
shop
/ʃɑːp/
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by exactly one sound. Listen until you can tell them apart, then say them yourself.
- ʃ
she
/ʃi/
ssea
/siː/
- ʃ
share
/ʃer/
tʃchair
/tʃer/
- ʃ
share
/ʃer/
ppair
/per/
- ʃ
she
/ʃi/
bbe
/bi/
- ʃ
she
/ʃi/
ttea
/tiː/
- ʃ
shoe
/ʃuː/
ddo
/duː/
- ʃ
share
/ʃer/
kcare
/ker/
- ʃ
show
/ʃoʊ/
ggo
/ɡoʊ/
Test yourself on this sound
Read these 8 words in one recording. The AI scores every sound and tells you whether your /ʃ/ came out right.