Czech Letter Č: The “Church” Sound, and Why It Isn’t CH
The Czech letter Č (č, named čé) is pronounced like the ch in “church”, [t͡ʃ]. It is a C with a háček, and it starts the Czech words for Czechia and Czech itself: Česko and čeština. Don’t confuse it with Czech ch, which sounds like the ch in Scottish “loch”.
Č, C and CH: three different sounds
This is the single biggest reading trap for English speakers. The letters look related, but each makes its own sound.
| Letter | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Č | ch in “church” | čaj (tea), čas (time) |
| C | ts in “cats” | cena (price), ulice (street) |
| CH | ch in “loch” | chléb (bread), chata (cottage) |
So the composer Janáček is ya-NAH-chek, the city of České Budějovice starts with “CHESS-keh”, and chata is not “chatter” but “KHAH-tah”. More on the other two: C and CH.
Č in words you’ll use on day one
Č at the end of a word stays “ch”
Many Czech consonants change at the end of a word (d sounds like t, ž like š). Č has no voiced partner in everyday Czech, so it keeps its “ch” sound everywhere: klíč is kleech, míč is meech. Before a voiced consonant it can soften to the “j” sound in “judge”, as in léčba (treatment), but you won’t be misunderstood if you keep it as “ch”.
Why Č matters for Czech names and places
- Karel Čapek: CHAH-pek, the writer who gave English the word “robot”.
- Leoš Janáček: YAH-nah-chek, the composer.
- České Budějovice: CHESS-keh BOO-dyeh-yo-vi-tseh, home of the original Budweiser.
- Český Krumlov: CHESS-kee KROOM-lof.
Č is how Czech writes one sound with one letter where English needs two (ch) and German needs four (tsch).
Typing Č
- Czech keyboard: the 4 key on the number row.
- Mac: hold c and choose č.
- Phone: long-press c.
- Anywhere: copy it from the Czech character grid.
Common mistakes
- Reading Czech ch as English ch. chata is KHAH-tah, not “chatter”.
- Reading č as k or s. It is always “ch” as in church.
- Dropping the háček. čas (time) without it becomes cas, which isn’t a word.
Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce č in Czech?
Like the ch in “church” or “cheese”.
What is the difference between č and ch in Czech?
Č is the “church” sound; ch is the throaty sound of Scottish “loch” or German “Bach”. They are different letters.
What is č called?
Its name is čé, or “cé s háčkem” (c with a háček).
Keep going
- The háček and the other letters it creates
- Š and Ž
- Czech alphabet chart
Sources
- Wikipedia, “Czech orthography”: en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, “Czech phonology” (voicing assimilation): en.wikipedia.org
