A1 · Alphabet and pronunciation · about 7 minutes
Hissing sounds: sz, cz, rz, ż and ś, ć, ź
hard and soft sibilants
English has one “sh”; Polish has two — a hard one and a soft one.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need17
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- iśćto go (on foot)
- szkołaschool
- czastime
- rzekariver
- dużybig, large
- musiećmust, to have to
- zjeśćto eat (up)
- przepraszaćto apologise
- trzebait is necessary, you have to
- czekaćto wait
- czekoladachocolate
- padaćto fall (rain, snow)
- deszczrain
- możemaybe, perhaps
- późnolate
- cześćhi; bye
- długilong
Understand
Remembersz, cz and ż are hard, ś, ć and ź are soft — and rz sounds like ż.
- Signal words
- sz
- cz
- rz
- ż
- ś
- ć
- ź
- szcz
The form
How it is written and said
Each row gives the rule first, then examples in Polish that show it.
| sz: like sh in “shop” | szkoła, szafa, kasza |
| cz: like ch in “church” | czas, czekolada, człowiek |
| ż and rz: like s in “pleasure” | żaba, może, rzeka, morze |
| szcz: sh and ch in a row | deszcz, szczęście, barszcz |
| ś, ć, ź: soft, with spread lips | coś, być, późno |
| s, z, c on their own: no hiss | sok, zupa, co |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
sz sounds like English sh.
Idę do szkoły.I am going to school.
cz sounds like English ch.
Nie mam czasu.I have no time.
rz and ż sound the same, like s in “pleasure”.
Rzeka jest duża.The river is big.
ś, ć and ź are softer than sz, cz and ż.
Muszę coś zjeść.I need to eat something.
After p, t, k and ch, rz sounds like sz.
Przepraszam, trzeba czekać.Excuse me, you have to wait.
Example sentences
Szymon je czekoladę.Szymon is eating chocolate.
Na rzece jest żaglówka.There is a sailing boat on the river.
Cześć, Kasia!Hi, Kasia!
6 more example sentences
Pada deszcz.It is raining.
Może później?Maybe later?
Szafa jest w sypialni.The wardrobe is in the bedroom.
Mam trzy siostry.I have three sisters.
Życzę ci szczęścia!I wish you luck!
To jest bardzo ważne.This is very important.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Because an English ear hears sz and ś as the same “sh”, it writes them the same. In Polish they make two words: kaszais groatsKasiais a name The most common greeting has a hard sound at the front and two soft ones at the back: cześć — czfirstśćat the end
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself9 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
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Next on the path: 3 · Soft sounds: ni, si, ci and ń, ś, ćBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Where English has one “sh”, one “ch” and one “zh” (the s in “pleasure”), Polish has two of each. The hard series is written sz, cz, ż (or rz): szkoła, czas, żaba. The tip of the tongue curls up behind the upper teeth and the lips stay almost unrounded. It is close to English “sh”, “ch” and “zh”, only harder and darker — English rounds its lips for “sh”, Polish does not.
The soft series is written ś, ć, ź: coś, być, późno. Here the middle of the tongue lies flat against the palate and the lips are spread as in a smile. ś sits between English “sh” and the s of “sure” said with a grin; ć is a softer, lighter “ch”, close to the start of “cheese”. To an English ear the two series sound alike at first; to a Polish ear they are as different as “sip” and “ship” are to you.
rz and ż sound exactly the same: like the s in “pleasure” or the g in “beige”. After p, t, k and ch, rz loses its voice and sounds like sz: przepraszam, trzy. And szcz really is “sh” plus “ch” in a row, as in “fresh cheese” said quickly: deszcz (rain), szczęście (happiness, luck).
Worth knowing1
Worth knowing
Two “sh” sounds instead of one
You tell “s” from “sh” without thinking. Polish adds one more distinction, a hard “sh” and a soft one. Practise with pairs that differ only there: kasza and Kasia, czy and ci. The smile is the trick: spread lips for the soft one, neutral lips for the hard one.
Kasia gotuje kaszę.Kasia is cooking groats.
The verbs on this page, in every form: być · mieć · iść · musieć · czekać · padać · zjeść