Pronunciation
Hard sz, cz, ż in Polish
sz, cz, ż are the hard sibilant set. They are louder and farther back than soft si/ci/zi. English “sh” is close for sz, but not identical.
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 (soft “zh”), but spelled with ż.
Practice words
wszystko
everything
czas
time
żółty
yellow
proszę
please
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.
See also
Next — topical phrases: Phrases
Check sz · cz · ż out loud
Record a phrase with this sound — the AI teacher will tell you if you landed it.