Words with 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

  1. chalet
  2. chauffeur
  3. Chicago
  4. Michelle
  5. moustache
  6. quiche

Intermediate words with ch pronounced sh

  1. attaché case
  2. avalanche
  3. chandelier
  4. chic
  5. creche
  6. papier mâché
  7. sachet
  8. Seychelles

Upper-intermediate words with ch pronounced sh

  1. bechamel sauce
  2. brioche
  3. chaperone
  4. chardonnay
  5. Charlotte
  6. chateau
  7. chauvinist
  8. Chevrolet
  9. chivalry
  10. cliché
  11. couchette
  12. crochet
  13. niche
  14. nouveau riche

Advanced words with ch pronounced sh

  1. attaché
  2. cache
  3. cachet
  4. chagrin
  5. chamois
  6. charade
  7. charlatan
  8. chassis
  9. cheroot
  10. chevron
  11. chicane
  12. chiffon
  13. gauche
  14. gouache
  15. louche
  16. machete
  17. nonchalant
  18. panache
  19. pastiche
  20. penchant
  21. ricochet
  22. Vichy

Written for EnglishClub by Alex Case