SOUND LESSON

How to pronounce /tʃ/: the ch sound in chair

Start /tʃ/ with a full tongue closure, then release into a /ʃ/ gap. Compare it with pinyin q and ch, and with cheap versus sheep.

/tʃ/

American English: /tʃ/ · affricate · postalveolar · voiceless
British English: /tʃ/ · affricate · postalveolar · voiceless

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Pronunciation model

Try it in a word

Choose a cheap chair for the teacher.

Mouth & tongue

Enable JavaScript to view the 3D panda. Pronunciation steps remain available below.

Vocal folds: apart

TongueTeethUvula

Simplified human pronunciation. The small uvula hangs from the palate; it is not the vocal folds. The wave indicates voicing.

Voice settings

The mouth starts slightly open. Movement is slowed for observation; the synthetic sound plays once at its original speed. Pause holds the current mouth shape; reset returns to the relaxed position. The panda is a symbolic teaching aid for human pronunciation, not animal anatomy.

What your mouth is doing

This affricate is one sound with two phases. The tongue blade seals behind the alveolar ridge, then releases into a narrow friction gap. The voice stays off, and the lips may round slightly.

Comparing with Mandarin and Spanish

Spelling includes ch, tch and sometimes t before ure, as in nature. The closure at the start is what separates chair from share, so make that brief stop audible.

Pinyin q and ch are only rough references because their tongue positions differ. Spanish ch, as in chico, is often a good start, though some varieties pronounce it closer to /ʃ/.

Build the sound, step by step

Press the tongue blade just behind the ridge and stop the air completely.
Release straight into /ʃ/ friction with your voice off, as one quick movement.
Say chair and teacher, then end watch cleanly without adding a vowel.

What to watch for

Skipping the closure turns chair into share. Start with a stop.
Do not split it into two beats such as t-sh; it is one quick sound.

Hear the difference in your own voice

Compare chair and share, then cheap and sheep. Add or remove the closure while the vowel stays the same. Then compare cheap and jeep, adding voicing to the second word.

References & editorial notes

PronounceKit wrote this lesson as practical guidance. The references below describe the sounds; the comparisons with other languages are editorial teaching suggestions. It describes common American and British patterns, not every accent, and it has not been independently reviewed by a pronunciation specialist. The mouth model is a simplified teaching aid, not a validated simulation.

Published 3 November 2026