/ʃ/as in “she”

Consonant

How to pronounce /ʃ/ in English

The /ʃ/ sound is a palatal, voiceless, fricative consonant.

Voiceless
Fricative
Post-alveolar

Jaw
Open your mouth slightly.
Tongue
Arch the middle of your tongue and raise it to the roof of your mouth, but don't touch it. Make sure there's a small gap between them.
Lips
Round your lips slightly and push them out a little.

Example words

she
wish
nation
sure
shoe

Common mistakes

SH sound

It came out as /s/: "she" sounded like "see". Round your lips and pull the tongue back a little.
It came out with a /t/ at the start. /ʃ/ has no stop: just let the air flow.
It came out as a /j/ glide. Make it a real hiss with rounded lips.

How to practise

/ʃ/: push your lips forward and round them, raise the front of the tongue behind the ridge, and let a wide stream of air out. It sounds deeper than /s/.
/s/: lips flat, tongue tip near the ridge, a thin sharp stream.
/ʒ/ is /ʃ/ with your voice on, as in "measure" and "usually".

Easily confused words

she · see
ship · sip
shoe · sue
sheet · seat
mesh · mess

Practise /ʃ/ with Letty

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