Trap 20 of 22 · French speakers
CH is not SH: chance, character, chemistry
CH n'est pas « che » : chance, character, chemistry
What French speakers do
You read every CH as French ch: shance, shampion — and chimie gives you shemistry.
The American rule
Default CH = ch (like church: t + sh). In Greek-origin words — science, music, mind — CH = K. Only recent French borrowings keep SH.
In French, ch is always the sh sound. In English, ch has three sounds, and the French one is the rarest:
- ch (t + sh), the default — chance, champion, chapter, challenge. Start the sound with a tiny T.
- k, in words from Greek — character, chemistry, orchestra, architect, psychology, mechanic. French speakers usually get these wrong because the French cognate (chimie, architecte) has sh.
- sh, only in words English took from French — chef, machine, champagne, Chicago. These are the ones you already say right.
The words
chance
/tʃæns/
✗SHANS
✓CHANSS
“Give me one more chance.”
champion
/ˈtʃæmpiən/
✗shan-PYON
✓CHAM-pee-un
“She's the world champion.”
chapter
/ˈtʃæptɚ/
✗sha-PITR
✓CHAP-ter
“Read the first chapter tonight.”
challenge
/ˈtʃælɪndʒ/
✗sha-LANZH
✓CHAL-inj
“It's a big challenge.”
character
/ˈkærɪktɚ/
✗ka-rak-TÈR
✓KAIR-ik-ter
“He's a funny character.”
chemistry
/ˈkɛmɪstri/
✗shé-MIS-tri
✓KEM-is-tree
“We have great chemistry.”
chaos
/ˈkeɪɑs/
✗ka-O
✓KAY-ahs
“The airport was total chaos.”
orchestra
/ˈɔrkɪstrə/
✗or-kes-TRA
✓OR-kis-truh
“She plays in an orchestra.”
architect
/ˈɑrkɪtɛkt/
✗ar-shi-TEKT
✓AR-kih-tekt
“My brother is an architect.”
psychology
/saɪˈkɑlədʒi/
✗psi-ko-lo-ZHI
✓sy-KAH-luh-jee
The P is silent.
“She studied psychology.”
mechanic
/məˈkænɪk/
✗mé-ka-NIK
✓muh-KAN-ik
“Take the car to a mechanic.”