Ш and Щ: Spot the Difference

One looks like a straight-lined “w” (or a toppled E), the other is nearly the same – but with a tail. Easy to mix up. And it doesn’t stop at their appearance: ш and щ sound strikingly similar too, close enough to make distinguishing them a real challenge.

Pronunciation: The Sound of Ш and Щ

For what such descriptions of sounds are worth: Wikipedia compares ш to “similar to ‘sh’ in hush”, and щ to “similar to a long ‘sh’ as in push ships or a short ‘sh’ as in sheep”. That may not help much – but it’s still more useful than “it represents the voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative /ɕ(ː)/.”

Ш and Щ in Russian speech

Therefore, ш and щ make an excellent listening exercise. And (like with the letter ы) it’s also mouth gymnastics. Настасья Сетун and Марина Решетко demonstrate the sounds more clearly than perhaps needed; similarly, Natalya Gruzinova’s videos Постановка звуков Ш и Ж and Постановка звука Щ aren’t exactly easy on the eyes.

Umashi and Anya help you move forward. Olga (Amazing Russian) is amazing as always, and Crazy Russian Dad also lives up to his name.

Russian pronunciation of letters Ш and Щ
(Umashi Learn Russian, 2020, 10 mins)

Russian Ш and Щ
(Anya Golubeva, 2018, 6 mins)

Phonetic Exercises: Ш vs. Щ
(Amazing Russian, 2016, 4 mins)

From the same channel: Phonetic Exercises: “Hissing” Consonants Ж, Ш, Щ, Ч, Ц (2019, 12 mins).

How to pronounce Russian letters Ш and Щ
(Crazy Russian Dad, 2016, 4 mins)

Recap on a light note.

More Ш and Щ

Watch

• The difference between Ш & Щ. Russian alphabet (PrivetVita, 2020, 3 mins)
• Difficult Russian sounds//Ш, Щ, Ц, Ы (Edine Russian, 2020, 3 mins)
• Russian alphabet. Letters ш & щ (Speechkah, 2020, 2 mins)
• How to pronounce these difficult sounds Ж Ш Щ (Crash into Russian, 2019, 1 min)
• Russian Letters Ч, Ж, Ш, Щ – Russian Hissing Consonants (Russian with Sergey, 2019, 5 mins)
• Learn Russian Alphabet. Consonants “Ж, Ш, Щ” (RLW Regina, 2019, 5 mins)
• The difference between Ш and Щ (Dobby Dobson, 2017, 2 mins)
• Russian Щ – Exercises from speech therapist (Real Russian Club, 2016, 3 mins); see also Russian Ш (sh) – Exercises from speech therapist (2016, 5 mins)
• Russian Pronunciation & Alphabet | Consonants Ш, Ж, Щ (learnrussian.org, 2016, 4 mins)
• Letters Ш and Щ in Russian (Be Fluent in Russian, 2016, 2 mins); see also Letters И-Й-Ц and Ш-Щ | Compare ‘n Contrast (2017, 7 mins)
• Russian alphabet – Щ: the sound and the letter (A. Romaker, 2014, 9 mins)
• Letters Ш Щ (Alina Aloshyna, 2013, 2 mins)

Check/read

• Difference in pronunciation between “щ” and “шь”? (Stack Exchange)
• How to pronounce Russian consonants (Master Russian)
• What is the correct pronunciation of Russian letters «ш» and «щ»? (Quora)
• How to pronounce Russian ‘щ’ (shch, sch) (The Russian Blog, 2012)

And a song to end with.

Follow Rusland1 on X
More Russian and Russians at Rad Russia
Russian music on Music in Russian

Last updated March 25, 2026