Digraph
How to pronounce Polish «sz» [ʂ]
sz
IPA[ʂ]
Hard sz [ʂ]. Pair to soft ś: kasza ≠ Kasia.
How to shape the sound
Alveolar hard sibilants: the front of the tongue approaches the upper alveoli; the tip is down; there is no softening.
Common trap
They get confused with the soft series ś/ć — then «kasza» becomes «Kasia», «kosz» becomes «koś», «czeszę się» becomes «cieszę się».
How to fix it
sz and cz — hard and noisy; ś and ć — soft and quiet.
Practice words
Pick a teacher — the word plays in their voice · Mirosław
szafa
wardrobe
Focus on pronunciation «sz»
gruszka
pear
Focus on pronunciation «sz»
kapelusz
hat
Focus on pronunciation «sz»