Go to the homepage of our German Course The German Consonant 'ch' University of Portsmouth
German 'ch' at the start of words Includes sound files!

Click here to listen to the soundsWhen the letters 'ch' appear at the start of a word, then the sound that is usually produced is the /ç/ phoneme, i.e. the sound that is made when 'ch' follows a front vowel. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear a native speaker say four German words starting with the letters 'ch'. The words themselves are given in the box below along with their English translation:

Chemie
(chemistry)
   China
(China)
chinesisch
(Chinese)
   Chirurg
(surgeon)


Click here to listen to the soundsIn South Germany and Austria however, this initial 'ch' sound can be pronounced as a /k/ phoneme and this articulation is viewed as an acceptable variant to the standard pronunciation. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear the same 'ch' words in the box above, but this time pronounced as one might expect to hear them in Bavaria.




Imported words beginning with 'ch' Includes sound files!

Click here to listen to the soundsA number of words beginning in 'ch' that have been imported from French require the 'ch' sound to be articulated in the manner that we would be accustomed to hear in France. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear seven such words. The words themselves are supplied in the box below along with their English translation:

Chef
(boss)
   Chance
(chance)
Champagner
(champagne)
   Chauffeur
(chauffeur)
Charme
(charm)
   Chaussee
(avenue)
Chauvinist
(chauvinist)


Click here to listen to the soundsTo complicate matters further, other words with 'ch' in initial position have been imported from English and retain the pronunciation that you would expect to hear in English. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four such German imports all of which begin with an English 'ch' sound:

chartern
(to charter)
   checken
(to check)
Chat
(chat)
   Cheeseburger
(cheeseburger)


Weiter! How to pronounce the German sounds 'chs' and 'ck'


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