The /ʃ/ Sound, Voiceless Palato-Alveolar Fricative
/ʃ/
/ʃ/ is a voiceless palato-alveolar fricative. To make it, the blade of the tongue rises towards the area between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate and the air is pushed through a narrow gap, which makes friction. It is voiceless, so the vocal folds do not vibrate.
Often called the sh sound.
Example Words
| Word | UK | US | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ship | /ʃɪp/ | /ʃɪp/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| fashion | /ˈfæʃ.ən/ | /ˈfæʃ.ən/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| fish | /fɪʃ/ | /fɪʃ/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
Distinctive Features
/ʃ/ is told apart from every other English sound by three distinctive features.
Allophones Of /ʃ/
/ʃ/ has 1 allophone in the app, starting with [ʃʷ], a consonant immediately before /w/ or a rounded vowel. The full list, where each occurs and the examples are in Allophones, which opens with any course or with Adroit Plus.
Words With The /ʃ/ Sound
/ʃ/ At The Start Of A Word
- shy
- chef
- chic
- sham
- shed
- ship
- shoe
- shop
- shot
- show
- shut
- sure
- schwa
- shade
- shady
- shaft
- shake
- shaky
- shale
- shame
- shape
- share
- shark
- sharp
- shave
- shawl
- sheep
- sheer
- sheet
- shelf
/ʃ/ In The Middle Of A Word
- issue
- ocean
- pushy
- ratio
- sushi
- usher
- action
- assure
- bishop
- bushel
- cashew
- cliche
- ensure
- insure
- luxury
- motion
- nation
- notion
- option
- sachet
- sexual
- social
- tissue
- ancient
- anxious
- asexual
- ashamed
- auction
- caption
- cashier
/ʃ/ At The End Of A Word
- ash
- bush
- cash
- dash
- dish
- fish
- gash
- gush
- hush
- lash
- lush
- mash
- mesh
- mush
- nosh
- posh
- push
- rash
- rush
- wash
- wish
- blush
- brash
- brush
- cache
- clash
- crash
- crush
- flash
- flesh
Minimal Pairs
Questions Students Ask
Is /ʃ/ voiced or voiceless?
/ʃ/ is voiceless.
What is the place of articulation of /ʃ/?
/ʃ/ is palato-alveolar, which means the blade of the tongue rises towards the area between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate.
What is the manner of articulation of /ʃ/?
/ʃ/ is a fricative, which means the air is pushed through a narrow gap, which makes friction.
Which words have the /ʃ/ sound?
For example ship, fashion, fish.
Related Sounds
The /f/ Sound, Voiceless Labio-Dental FricativeThe /v/ Sound, Voiced Labio-Dental FricativeThe /θ/ Sound, Voiceless Dental FricativeThe /ð/ Sound, Voiced Dental FricativeThe /s/ Sound, Voiceless Alveolar FricativeThe /z/ Sound, Voiced Alveolar FricativeThe /ʒ/ Sound, Voiced Palato-Alveolar FricativeThe /h/ Sound, Voiceless Glottal FricativeThe /tʃ/ Sound, Voiceless Palato-Alveolar AffricateThe /dʒ/ Sound, Voiced Palato-Alveolar Affricate