ch pronounced sh by level

Although CH is normally pronounced like the ch- in “cheese” and -tch in “patch”, it fairly often has other pronunciations, including the ch- in chalet being the same sound as the sh- in sheep. Like this example, most of those words come from French, and that is often clearly shown by their cultural specificity (“champagne”), their spelling (“Michelle”) and/ or other parts of their pronunciation (“sachet”, with a silent final T). This page gives suitable words to learn and teach this point at all levels from A1 to C1/C2.

Elementary words with ch pronounced sh

1. brochure
2. champagne
3. chef
4. parachute
5. machine
6. pistachio

Pre-intermediate words with ch pronounced sh

7. chalet
8. chauffeur
9. Chicago
10. Michelle
11. moustache
12. quiche

Intermediate words with ch pronounced sh

13. attaché case
14. avalanche
15. chandelier
16. chic
17. creche
18. papier mâché
19. sachet
20. Seychelles

Upper-intermediate words with ch pronounced sh

21. bechamel sauce
22. brioche
23. chaperone
24. chardonnay
25. Charlotte
26. chateau
27. chauvinist
28. Chevrolet
29. chivalry
30. cliché
31. couchette
32. crochet
33. niche
34. nouveau riche

Advanced words with ch pronounced sh

35. attaché
36. cache
37. cachet
38. chagrin
39. chamois
40. charade
41. charlatan
42. chassis
43. cheroot
44. chevron
45. chicane
46. chiffon
47. gauche
48. gouache
49. louche
50. machete
51. nonchalant
52. panache
53. pastiche
54. penchant
55. ricochet
56. Vichy

Written for EnglishClub by Alex Case