American English Sounds
  • Home
  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary
    • For Students
    • For Instructors

/tʃ/

LISTEN

listen_to_-ch-.mp3
File Size: 165 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/tʃ/.../tʃ/.../tʃ/.../tʃ/...

choose...match...marching...lunch...

WHAT IS IT?

Pronunciation:
The sound /tʃ/ is a voiceless, alveo-palatal, affricate consonant. 
  • Press the middle of your tongue between your alveolar ridge and your soft palate.
  • Quickly move your tongue downward while forcefully pushing air out.
  • The air in your mouth should stop before it is released. (It is like combining a /t/ with a /ʃ/.)
  • Your vocal cords should not vibrate.

The sound /tʃ/ can be in these consonant clusters:​
  • Beginning of a Syllable
  • End of a Syllable
<
>
(none)
ch_final_clusters.mp3
File Size: 85 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/rtʃ/ (“rch”) - porch
​
/rtʃt/ (“rched”) - marched
​
/ltʃ/ (“lch” ) - mulch
​
/ltʃt/ (“lched”) - filched
​
/ntʃ/ (“nch”) - ranch
​
/ntʃt/ (“nched”) - pinched

Spelling:
  • “ch” – change, march
  • “tch” – watch, kitchen,
  • “ce” – cello, concerto
  • “t (+u)” – culture, fortune
  • “t (+i)” – question, suggestion

COMPARE

Compare /tʃ/ with /ʃ/.
compare_ch-sh_1.mp3
File Size: 114 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/tʃ/…/ʃ/…/tʃ/…/ʃ/…/tʃ/…/ʃ/…

The sounds /tʃ/ and /ʃ/ are both voiceless, alveo-palatal consonants. However, /tʃ/ is an affricate while /ʃ/ is a fricative. When you pronounce /tʃ/, the air in your mouth should stop (like a /t/) before it is released (like a /ʃ/).

You can hear the difference between /tʃ/ and /ʃ/ in these words.
compare_ch-sh_words.mp3
File Size: 176 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. A. chop, B. shop
2. A. choose, B. shoes
3. A. which, B. wish
4. A. march, B. marsh
5. A. leeches, B. leashes
6. ​A. matching, B. mashing

Practice recognizing words with /tʃ/ and /ʃ/ by taking the quiz below.

​
Now compare /tʃ/ and /t/:
compare_ch-t_1.mp3
File Size: 123 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/tʃ/…/t/…/tʃ/…/t/…/tʃ/…/t/…

The sounds /tʃ/ and /t/ are both voiceless consonants pronounced near the alveolar ridge. However, /tʃ/ is a alveo-palatal affricate while /t/ is an alveolar stop. The sound /tʃ/ has some air released.

​You can hear the difference between /tʃ/ and /t/ in these words.
compare_ch-t_words.mp3
File Size: 410 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

​1. A. chime, B. time
2. A. chalk, B. talk
3. A. notch, B. not
4. A. porch, B. port
​5. A. kitchen, B. kitten
​6. A. hunching, B. hunting

Practice recognizing words with /tʃ/ and /t/ by taking the quiz below

PRACTICE

Listen and repeat these words:
words_with_-ch-.mp3
File Size: 580 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. chin
2. cheese
3. change
4. chopstick
5. chapter
6. chance
7. challenge
8. charger
9. match
10. teach
​11. search
12. approach
13. lunch
14. church
15. feature
16. furniture
17. suggestion
18. fortunate
19. exchange
20. parchment

Now, practice /tʃ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.
sentences_with_-ch-.mp3
File Size: 1204 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. teacher – research – speeches
Our teacher taught us how to do research for speeches.

2. matching – chopsticks – lunch 
We need a pair of matching chopsticks for lunch.

3. chess - checkers - porch 
Do you want to play chess or checkers on the porch?

4. search – attachment
Use the search bar to find the email with the attachment.

5. exchanged – WeChat – touch 
The students exchanged WeChat information so they could stay in touch.

6. choose – cheaper – charger
​You can choose a cheaper charger.
​

​To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:
  • Male 1 (US Midwest - St Louis) - words, sentences
  • Male 2 (US Midwest - Iowa) - words, sentences
  • Male 3 (US Midwest) - words, sentences
  • Female 1 (US Northeast) - words, sentences​
  • Female 2 (US Southeast) - words, sentences

USE IT!

Practice the task below. Then, record yourself completing that task. Give your recording to a teacher or an English-speaking friend for feedback.

Prepare:
Think about how you make choices in your life. Look at the list of choices, and decide which choices are easy to make, and which choices are hard to make.
​
  • Choosing what to eat for lunch
  • ​Choosing to change your major or career​
  • Choosing your favorite teacher
  • Choosing furniture for your house or apartment
  • Choosing a topic for a research paper 
  • Choosing a church, mosque, or other religious community to join​​
  • Choosing jewelry or accessories that match your outfit
  • Choosing pictures to decorate a room​
  • Choosing what to eat for lunch
  • Choosing your favorite teacher
  • Choosing a topic for a research paper 
  • Choosing furniture for your house or apartment
  • Choosing a church, mosque, or other religious community to join
  • Choosing to change your major or career
  • Choosing jewelry or accessories that match your outfit
  • Choosing pictures to decorate a room​

​Record:
In your recording, explain 1 choice that is easy for you to make and 1 choice that is hard for you to make. Describe the process of making each choice.

©2018-2021, Christine Wingate
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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  • Home
  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary
    • For Students
    • For Instructors