Minimal pair · Contemporary Standard Russian
Russian /s/ vs /ʂ/Сок or шок?
Learn to hear the difference between s and ʂ in Russian words.
Practice these sounds/s/
An unvoiced hiss
Listen for the narrow, hissing sound in the target consonant.
As inсок
/ʂ/
The Russian ш sound
A darker, retracted sound than /s/. Russian ш is conventionally hard.
As inшок
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
A small change.
A different word.
Сок/шок and сутки/шутки contrast their first consonants. The rest of each word gives you a stable frame for comparing /s/ and /ʂ/.
Listen for the target sound in each word.
A common trap
Russian ш is not identical to every sound written sh in other languages. Use the recorded Russian example and the declared variety.
Sound examples
Tap to hear each wordсок
/sok/juiceсын
/sɨn/sonсуп
/sup/soupсон
/son/sleep; a dreamсад
/sat/gardenшок
/ʂok/shockшум
/ʂum/noiseшов
/ʂof/seamшут
/ʂut/jesterшар
/ʂar/sphere; ball10 words. Words stay hidden during practice unless you choose to reveal them.