Ch, sch, sp and st

Find the difference between ich, Buch and Schule.

Two common ch sounds

After front vowels, and in words such as Milch, ch is usually /ç/. After a, o, u or au, it is usually /x/. These patterns concern familiar German words; loanwords can differ.

ich · Buch

I · book

Sch and the start of a word

Sch is /ʃ/. At the start of the familiar word stems in Sport and Straße, sp/st begin with /ʃ/, followed by p/t. Do not turn every s in a word into sh.

Schule · Sport

school · sport