German (Germany) minimal pairs

Minimal pairs: Kirche and Kirsche

/ç/vs/ʃ/

Hard for speakers of English and French, who replace the soft ich sound with “sh”, and for speakers of Spanish and Italian, whose languages have neither sound in these places.

The difference. For the ich sound the tongue tip stays down behind the lower teeth, the lips stay unrounded, and the air hisses over the middle of the tongue; for sch the tongue lifts and the lips push forward.

Practice all pairs

5 word pairs

Say both words in each pair. If Tono colors one of them amber or red, that is the sound to work on.

mich misch Practice
Kirche Kirsche Practice
Löcher Löscher Practice
Wicht wischt Practice
Fichte fischte Practice

Contrast sentences

Both sounds in one sentence: the real test of whether you can switch between them.

Misch dich nicht ein. Practice
Hinter der Kirche wachsen Kirschen. Practice
Ich wische den Tisch. Practice

How to practice minimal pairs

Listen to both words in Tono first, one after the other, until you can hear the difference.
Say the pair slowly and exaggerate the difference. Check that both words come back green.
Say the contrast sentences at normal speed. That is where the mix-up usually comes back.

Step-by-step help with these sounds: How to pronounce German ch: the ich and ach sounds

More minimal pairs

English minimal pairs Spanish minimal pairs French minimal pairs