The "ch" "sh" and "zh" sounds

Level

A1
Related to
1. Tough sounds s-sh-, c-ch-, z-zh- (A2)
2. Tough sounds x-sh-, q-ch-, j-zh- (A2)
In series Pinyin quick start guide
1. 1. Easy sounds
2. 2. The "a" vowel
3. 3. The "e" vowel
4. 4. The "i" vowel
5. 5. The "o" and "u" vowels
6. 6. The "c" and "z" sounds
7. 7. The "ch" "sh" and "zh" sounds
8. 8. The "r" sound
9. 9. The "ü" vowel
10. 10. The "j" "q" and "x" sounds
Referenced Initials
- ch-
- sh-
- zh-

The sounds represented by "ch-," "sh-," and "zh-" in pinyin are all very similar sounds in Chinese. They're meant to be grouped together, and they should be learned together. The good news is that these sounds are not too different from the English "ch", "sh", and "j" sounds (note that "zh-" sounds like the English "j" sound; the pinyin "j-" sound is totally different beast, to be introduced later).

Pinyin's "ch", "sh", and "zh" Sounds

Pinyin Chart Fragment

This is just a part of the full pinyin chart, limited to the sounds we've covered so far.

	-a	-ai	-ao	-an	-ang	-e	-ei	-en	-eng	-ou	-ong	-i*	-u	-ua	-uai	-uei	-uo	-uan	-uang	-uen
zh-	zha zha [tʂɑ] ㄓㄚ cha	zhai zhai [tʂaɪ̯] ㄓㄞ chai	zhao zhao [tʂɑʊ̯] ㄓㄠ chao	zhan zhan [tʂan] ㄓㄢ chan	zhang zhang [tʂɑŋ] ㄓㄤ chang	zhe zhe [tʂɯ̯ʌ] ㄓㄜ che	zhei zhei [tʂeɪ̯] ㄓㄟ chei	zhen zhen [tʂən] ㄓㄣ chen	zheng zheng [tʂəŋ] ㄓㄥ cheng	zhou zhou [tʂɤʊ̯] ㄓㄡ chou	zhong zhong [tʂʊŋ] ㄓㄨㄥ chung	zhi zhi [tʂʅ] ㄓ chih	zhu zhu [tʂu] ㄓㄨ chu	zhua zhua [tʂu̯ɑ] ㄓㄨㄚ chua	zhuai zhuai [tʂu̯aɪ̯] ㄓㄨㄞ chuai	zhui zhui [tʂu̯eɪ̯] ㄓㄨㄟ chui	zhuo zhuo [tʂu̯ɔ] ㄓㄨㄛ cho	zhuan zhuan [tʂu̯an] ㄓㄨㄢ chuan	zhuang zhuang [tʂ̯u̯ɑŋ] ㄓㄨㄤ chuang	zhun zhun [tʂu̯ən] ㄓㄨㄣ chun	zh-
ch-	cha cha [tʂʰɑ] ㄔㄚ ch'a	chai chai [tʂʰaɪ̯] ㄔㄞ ch'ai	chao chao [tʂʰɑʊ̯] ㄔㄠ ch'ao	chan chan [tʂʰan] ㄔㄢ ch'an	chang chang [tʂʰɑŋ] ㄔㄤ ch'ang	che che [tʂʰɯ̯ʌ] ㄔㄜ ch'e		chen chen [tʂʰən] ㄔㄣ ch'en	cheng cheng [tʂʰəŋ] ㄔㄥ ch'eng	chou chou [tʂʰɤʊ̯] ㄔㄡ ch'ou	chong chong [tʂʰʊŋ] ㄔㄨㄥ ch'ung	chi chi [tʂʰʅ] ㄔ ch'ih	chu chu [tʂʰu] ㄔㄨ ch'u	chua chua [tʂʰu̯ɑ] ㄔㄨㄚ ch'ua	chuai chuai [tʂʰu̯aɪ̯] ㄔㄨㄞ ch'uai	chui chui [tʂʰu̯eɪ̯] ㄔㄨㄟ ch'ui	chuo chuo [tʂʰu̯ɔ] ㄔㄨㄛ ch'o	chuan chuan [tʂʰu̯an] ㄔㄨㄢ ch'uan	chuang chuang [tʂʰu̯ɑŋ] ㄔㄨㄤ ch'uang	chun chun [tʂʰu̯ən] ㄔㄨㄣ ch'un		ch-
sh-	sha sha [ʂɑ] ㄕㄚ sha	shai shai [ʂaɪ̯] ㄕㄞ shai	shao shao [ʂɑʊ̯] ㄕㄠ shao	shan shan [ʂan] ㄕㄢ shan	shang shang [ʂɑŋ] ㄕㄤ shang	she she [ʂɯ̯ʌ] ㄕㄜ she	shei shei [ʂeɪ̯] ㄕㄟ shei	shen shen [ʂən] ㄕㄣ shen	sheng sheng [ʂəŋ] ㄕㄥ sheng	shou shou [ʂɤʊ̯] ㄕㄡ shou		shi shi [ʂʅ] ㄕ shih	shu shu [ʂu] ㄕㄨ shu	shua shua [ʂu̯ɑ] ㄕㄨㄚ shua	shuai shuai [ʂu̯aɪ̯] ㄕㄨㄞ shuai	shui shui [ʂu̯eɪ̯] ㄕㄨㄟ shui	shuo shuo [ʂu̯ɔ] ㄕㄨㄛ sho	shuan shuan [ʂu̯an] ㄕㄨㄢ shuan	shuang shuang [ʂu̯ɑŋ] ㄕㄨㄤ shuang	shun shun [ʂu̯ən] ㄕㄨㄣ shun	sh-

Keep going! The exciting "r" sound is next.

Sources and further reading

Sinosplice: Chinese Pronunciation
ChinesePod: A, O with ZH, CH, SH, R, E with Z, C, S, ZH, CH, SH, R, I with Z, C, S, ZH, CH, SH, R, U with ZH, CH, SH, R