/ʃ/

consonant · voiceless

The SH Sound

as in she

How to make the /ʃ/ sound

Voiceless — no vocal cord vibration
voiced voiceless
  1. 1Pull the tongue slightly back from the S position.
  2. 2Round the lips a little.
  3. 3A wide, soft hush: "shh". Spelled sh, s, ch, ti, ci, or ss.

⚠ The most common mistake

Merging with S: "she" and "see" must differ.

Especially tricky for speakers of: Greek, Dutch, Tagalog.

Train your ear: /ʃ/ vs //

These two words differ by exactly one sound. Tap both — can you hear it?

Practice: Record & Compare

Record yourself saying she, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.

Practice words with /ʃ/

Tap the speaker to hear each word; tap the word for its full pronunciation page.

More consonants

See all 44 sounds of English →