Soft and hard pronunciations in German and English

Soft and hard ch pronunciations in English

An affricate, soft ch, as in “cheese”

Stop with a hard ch, as in “loch” 

Soft and hard ch pronunciations in German:

1)A soft ch-1 fricative is produced by maintaining the tongue flat and without contacting the roof of the mouth while arching the blade (the area directly behind the tip toward the top of the mouth.

2) Sometimes the sh sound takes its place.

Hard ch

1)A fricative and is pronounced similarly to the r in rot.

2)Sounds more like hissing than the r (you can practice by putting your tongue in the position and just blowing air out through your mouth).

3)The hard, or back, ch comes after ‘back vowels’ (u, o), a, and ä. So, you would use the soft ch in ‘ich’ and the hard ch in ‘machen.’ 

The third, less frequent pronunciation of ch in English sounds like sh. The majority of English terms with this third pronunciation are French loanwords; examples include charade and charcuterie. There are several additional pronunciations for German.

The most typical unusual pronunciation of ch in German is as a k. This pronunciation normally occurs when a ch precedes a word and is followed by a r, l, an a, or an o, as in the word “Chor” for “choir” (although it can also arise sporadically in the phrase “Orchester” for “orchestra”). 

The German ch can also sound like the ch in “cheese” in some dialects when it has a -chen ending, as in Mädchen.