ch
/t͡ʃ/from spelling rules
ch is the letter of the English alphabet that represents a specific consonant sound in Spanish.
Examples of common words featuring this sound include chuleta (pork chop), chiste (joke), chimenea (fireplace), chaleco (vest) and champú (shampoo).
How do you pronounce it?
/tʃ/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the sound ch is used in the word chupacabra, a legendary creature from folklore whose name literally means 'goat-sucker'.
- Historically, ch was considered a single letter of the alphabet rather than a combination of 'c' and 'h'. It only lost its status as an independent letter in the 1994 official orthography changes.
- If you see the word che in a Spanish context, it is not a letter, but a famous slang term used in Argentina and Uruguay to mean 'hey' or 'friend'.
Examples in context
- El alfabeto del alto sorabo contiene treinta y cuatro letras: a, b, c, č, ć, d, dź, e, ě, f, g, h, ch, i, j, k, ł, l, m, n, ń, o, ó, p, r, ř, s, š, t, u, w, y, z, ž.The Upper Sorbian alphabet consists of 34 letters: a, b, c, č, ć, d, dź, e, ě, f, g, h, ch, i, j, k, ł, l, m, n, ń, o, ó, p, r, ř, s, š, t, u, w, y, z, ž.This sentence is useful for seeing the position of ch within the Upper Sorbian alphabet.Tatoeba #10078882 by manufrutos, translation #9832088 by Dominika7
- La letra ch es muy importante en español.The letter ch is very important in Spanish.
- ¿Cómo se escribe la ch en esta palabra?How do you write the ch in this word?
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are studying the alphabet together.
- MateoSofía, ¿cómo se escribe esta letra?Sofía, how do you write this letter?
- SofíaEs la ch, Mateo.It is the ch, Mateo.
- Mateo¿La ch es una sola letra?Is the ch a single letter?
- SofíaSí, en algunos alfabetos antiguos.Yes, in some old alphabets.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
