What’s the difference between sz and ś?

sz is hard (szafa — wardrobe). ś is soft (świat — world). This is one of the key pairs to train.

Is cz like English church?

Close to ch in church, but without English final softness. Do not mix it with soft ć/ci.

Where can I practise sz/cz?

Words wszystko, czas, proszę — listen on this page, then open Practice with a phrase that contains them.

Pronunciation

Hard sz, cz, ż in Polish

IPA[ʂ · tʂ · ʐ]

sz, cz, ż are the hard sibilant set ([ʂ], [tʂ], [ʐ]). They are louder and farther back than soft si/ci/zi. Soft “shch” does not fit — Poles immediately hear the wrong softness.

sz · cz · ż

Typical mistake

sz is often replaced with soft ś or with “shch”. Wszystko turns into “fszystko” with an extra “f”, or into something too soft.

How to make the sound

01sz is like “sh”, with lips slightly rounded and the tongue a bit farther back.
02cz is a hard “ch” (as in “church”), not soft “ć”.
03ż is the same as rz (sound [ʐ]), but spelled with ż.

Practice words

Pick a teacher — the word plays in their voice · Mirosław

wszystko
everything
everything
ListenPractice
czas
time
time
ListenPractice
żółty
yellow
yellow
ListenPractice
proszę
please
please
ListenPractice

Questions

What’s the difference between sz and ś?: sz is hard (szafa — wardrobe). ś is soft (świat — world). This is one of the key pairs to train.
Is cz like English church?: Close to ch in church, but without English final softness. Do not mix it with soft ć/ci.
Where can I practise sz/cz?: Words wszystko, czas, proszę — listen on this page, then open Practice with a phrase that contains them.

Check sz · cz · ż out loud

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