How to pronounce “chs” in German

Pronunciation

Aug 25

Many German students struggle when it comes to the pronunciation of the German “chs”. This article will explain to you everything you need to know.

The special sound of “chs”

Almost every language you study will surprise you with sounds you did not know before. The older we get, the harder it becomes to really study these special sounds. Besides the Umlaute “ä”, “ö” and “ü”, also the letters “chs” frequently are a reason for struggles for German learners. However, if you know how to correctly pronounce them, you’ll reduce your foreign accent when speaking German.

Though Germans pronounce most of the letters in a word the way they read it, “chs” is an exemption. Usually, it depends on the letters that stand before “ch” if you’ll need to pronounce it hard like in “Dach”, “Tochter” or soft like in “möchten” or “Küche”. However, this does not apply to “chs”.

The German “chs” sounds like the English “ks”. This means that instead of any hard or soft “kh” sound, you hear a “k” which is quickly followed by an “s”.

Recommended study materials on the topic:

Phonetics – exercises, and tips for good pronunciation A1
Phonetics – exercises, and tips for good pronunciation A2
Phonetics – exercises, and tips for good pronunciation B1

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Examples of animals with “chs” in German:

der Dachs (badger)
der Luchs (bobcat)
der Fuchs (fox)
der Lachs (salmon)
die Echse (lizard)
der Ochse (ox)

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Also, there are several world families which are all using “chs”:

wachsen (to grow)
aufwachsen (to grow up)
der Erwachsene (the grown-up)
der Nachwuchs (the offspring)
wechseln (to change / switch)
abwechseln (to alternate)
verwechseln (to confuse)
der Wechsel (the change)
das Wechselgeld (the change money)

Bundesländer:

Sachsen (Saxony)
sächsisch
der Sachse
Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony)
niedersächsisch
der Niedersachse
Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt)
sachsen-anhaltinisch
der Sachsen-Anhaltiner

Other nouns with “chs” in German:

das Wachs (the wax)
die Büchse (the can)
die Achsel (the armpit)
die Achse (the axis)

Mastering German pronunciation

After reading this article, I hope you finally understood how to correctly pronounce the German “chs”. If you want to know more about pronunciation, check out how to pronounce “ch in German.

Bis bald!

Steffie

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