Consonant Affricates: ch sound /ʧ/

Listen to the ch sound

How to pronounce the ch sound

The ch sound is unvoiced (the vocal cords do not vibrate during its production), and is the counterpart to the voiced j sound.

To create the ch sound, air is briefly prevented from leaving the vocal tract when the tip of the tongue presses against the back tooth ridge while the sides of the tongue press against the upper side teeth. The sound is aspirated when the air is released with friction (similar to the friction of an sh sound).

Many ESL/ELL pronunciation students often find it helpful to think of the ch sound as stopping the air similar to a t sound (but with the tongue a bit further back on the tooth ridge), and then releasing it with the friction of an sh sound.

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Common ch sound spellings

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
ch[1]	chip teacher rich		k sound (chorus) sh sound (chef)
tch	kitchen itch watch		none
t(+u)[2]	virtue century spatula		t sound (study)

[1] ch spelling
The ch sound is the most common of the three possible pronunciations for the ch spelling.

[2] t(+u) spelling
While the t+u spelling is preceded by the letter s or begins a stressed (or secondarily stressed) syllable, the t sound is the more common pronunciation (as in the words study and solitude).

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The ch sound in suffixes

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
-tion[3]	question exhaustion suggestion		sh sound (station)

[3] -tion suffix
The -tion suffix is only likely to be pronounced with a ch sound when it is preceded by an s sound. In most other circumstances, the sh sound is the more likely pronunciation for this suffix (examples include the words station and action).

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Non-phonetic ch sound words
The ch sound is underlined in the following words:
cello

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