ʃ
Consonant
/ʃ/ — Voiceless palato-alveolar fricative
Example words
| Word | US English | UK English |
|---|---|---|
| shoe | /ˈʃu/ | /ʃuː/ |
| shade | /ˈʃeɪd/ | /ʃeɪd/ |
| fish | /ˈfɪʃ/ | /fɪʃ/ |
| she | /ˈʃi/ | /ʃiː/ |
| ship | /ˈʃɪp/ | /ʃɪp/ |
| wash | /ˈwɑʃ/ | /wɒʃ/ |
| nation | /ˈneɪʃən/ | /neɪʃən/ |
| sure | /ˈʃʊɹ/ | /ˈʃʊə/ |
| ocean | /ˈoʊʃən/ | /əʊʃən/ |
| machine | /məˈʃin/ | /məʃiːn/ |
Transcriptions come from pronunciation lexicons IPAtics maintains, in US and UK English.
How to produce this sound
SoundVoiceless postalveolar fricative (as in "sh").
TongueTongue blade raised behind alveolar ridge; channel airflow through center.
LipsLight rounding helps focus the frication.
JawSlight opening, no tension.
VoiceUnvoiced frication only.
Minimal pairs
Each pair differs only in /ʃ/, so hearing them side by side isolates the sound.
- ship/ˈʃɪp/sip/ˈsɪp/
- shoe/ˈʃu/sue/ˈsu/
- she/ˈʃi/see/ˈsi/
- sheep/ˈʃip/cheap/ˈtʃip/
Spelling patterns
- sh as in shoe
- ti as in nation
- s as in sure
- ce as in ocean
- ch as in machine
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