The audio here is generated speech. A recorded human voice for this lesson is on the way.
The sound
SH is the "quiet, please" sound. Round your lips a little and push them forward, lift your tongue a bit further back than for S, and let the air rush out. It is softer and wider than S. The spelling varies more than you might expect: "sh" in "shop", but also "ti" in "nation", "ci" in "special", "s" in "sure" and "sugar".
Learners mix SH with S ("sea" for "she") and with CH ("chip" for "ship"). For S, your lips spread; for SH, they round forward. For CH, the sound starts with a stop, like T; SH never stops, it flows from the first moment.
Hear the difference
Tap each word. Then test your ear.
SH: lips rounded forward. S: lips spread, tongue tip higher.
Say it out loud
Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.
"Sure" is spelled with S but said with SH.
Practice · 3 min
Repeat each sentence, pushing your lips forward on every SH. Watch the spelling in the fourth sentence: "station" and "special" have SH too. Record the first sentence and listen for "she", "sells", "shoes", "shop" and "street".
Say it today
Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.