pronunciation - How do I know when a word with "ch" is pronounced hard or softly?


I'm hard-of-hearing, so when I read, I pronounce things phonetically because I don't hear a lot of soft sounds (like /sh/). To my surprise over the years, I've been continuously corrected on words that have a "ch" sound in them.


For example, "parachute" is pronounced "para shoot" \ˈper-ə-ˌshüt, ˈpa-rə-\ and not "para chewt".


Are there any indicators of when I would use a hard "ch" sound (like in "choose")?




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