/tʃ/ /dʒ/
The CH and J sounds
CH and J are affricates — a stop plus a hiss, glued together. CH is /t/ + /ʃ/, J is /d/ + /ʒ/. Learners often stretch them into a plain 'sh' or soften them into 'y'.
Who this is for: Speakers of French, Portuguese, Arabic and Slavic languages, plus children still fronting these sounds.
34 words with IPA · minimal pairs · sentence ladders · free, no signup
Where to put your tongue
- 1Start with the tongue pressed against the ridge behind the top teeth, as if for /t/.
- 2Release the pressure suddenly into an 'sh' — that burst-then-hiss is CH.
- 3Round the lips a little as the air escapes.
- 4For J, the identical movement with the voice turned on from the start.
- 5Keep both sounds short. Stretching them turns 'chair' into 'share'.
Common mistakes
- Dropping the stop: 'chair' becomes 'share', 'jeep' becomes 'zheep'.
- Hardening into /ʃ/ + vowel: 'question' becoming 'kwesh-tion' instead of 'KWES-chun'.
- Missing the hidden CH/J in -ture and -dure words (nature, schedule, gradual).
- Confusing spelling with sound: choir is /kw/, machine is /ʃ/, both spelled with 'ch'.
Word list
IPA plus a plain respelling — capitals mark the stressed syllable. Read each column slowly first, then at speaking pace.
CH at the start
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| chair | /tʃɛr/ | CHAIR |
| church | /tʃɜːrtʃ/ | CHURCH |
| cheese | /tʃiːz/ | CHEEZ |
| challenge | /ˈtʃæl.ɪndʒ/ | CHAL-inj |
| choose | /tʃuːz/ | CHOOZ |
| chocolate | /ˈtʃɑːk.lət/ | CHOK-luht |
| children | /ˈtʃɪl.drən/ | CHIL-druhn |
CH in the middle and end
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| kitchen | /ˈkɪtʃ.ɪn/ | KITCH-in |
| future | /ˈfjuː.tʃɚ/ | FYOO-chur |
| nature | /ˈneɪ.tʃɚ/ | NAY-chur |
| picture | /ˈpɪk.tʃɚ/ | PIK-chur |
| question | /ˈkwɛs.tʃən/ | KWES-chuhn |
| actually | /ˈæk.tʃu.ə.li/ | AK-choo-uh-lee |
| adventure | /ədˈvɛn.tʃɚ/ | ad-VEN-chur |
| watch | /wɑːtʃ/ | WOTCH |
| stretch | /strɛtʃ/ | STRETCH |
J sound
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| jewelry | /ˈdʒuː.əl.ri/ | JOO-uhl-ree |
| judge | /dʒʌdʒ/ | JUJ |
| general | /ˈdʒɛn.ɚ.əl/ | JEN-ur-uhl |
| giraffe | /dʒəˈræf/ | juh-RAF |
| region | /ˈriː.dʒən/ | REE-juhn |
| suggestion | /səˈdʒɛs.tʃən/ | suh-JES-chuhn |
| gradual | /ˈɡrædʒ.u.əl/ | GRAJ-oo-uhl |
| schedule | /ˈskɛdʒ.uːl/ | SKEJ-ool |
| soldier | /ˈsoʊl.dʒɚ/ | SOHL-jur |
| individual | /ˌɪn.dəˈvɪdʒ.u.əl/ | in-duh-VIJ-oo-uhl |
CH spellings that are not /tʃ/
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| choir | /ˈkwaɪ.ɚ/ | KWY-ur |
| chaos | /ˈkeɪ.ɑːs/ | KAY-oss |
| character | /ˈkɛr.ək.tɚ/ | KAIR-uhk-tur |
| stomach | /ˈstʌm.ək/ | STUM-uhk |
| machine | /məˈʃiːn/ | muh-SHEEN |
| chef | /ʃɛf/ | SHEF |
| architect | /ˈɑːr.kə.tɛkt/ | AR-kuh-tekt |
| technique | /tɛkˈniːk/ | tek-NEEK |
Minimal pairs
Say each pair out loud, three times. If the two words sound identical, the sound is not landing yet.
chair vs share
affricate vs plain hiss
cheap vs jeep
unvoiced vs voiced
chin vs gin
same contrast, short vowel
watch vs wash
final position
batch vs badge
final voicing
cheese vs she's
listen for the burst
Sentence ladders
Start with the single word, then add length. Never move up a rung until the one below is clean.
church
the church choir
The church choir chose cheerful children.
jewelry
gold jewelry
The judge's jewelry jangled gently in January.
picture
a natural picture
Nature's picture captured the future perfectly.
schedule
a gradual schedule
A gradual schedule suggested a general adjustment.
Tongue twisters for this sound
Practise these with your microphone and get an instant accuracy score.
Chester Cheetah chews a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.
medium · practise with the mic →
Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.
medium · practise with the mic →
Chuckling cheerful chimps chomp cheddar chunks.
hard · practise with the mic →
She saw Sheriff Short's shoes shining.
medium · practise with the mic →
The jolly juggler juggles jelly jars.
medium · practise with the mic →
Jumbo jets jet across the jagged sky.
medium · practise with the mic →
A ten-minute daily routine
- 1. Two minutes on the mouth position, in front of a mirror.
- 2. Three minutes reading the word list aloud, slowly.
- 3. Two minutes on minimal pairs, three times each.
- 4. Two minutes climbing one sentence ladder.
- 5. One minute on a tongue twister — slow first, fast last.
- 6. Record yourself once a week and compare.