Red Kalinka Forum

Since there is no subforum for pronunciation, I'm entering my question here.

Why is что pronounced /shto/ instead of /chto/? I thought ч equates to /ch/. Does the T activate a variant rule?

Hi,

in contemporary Russian language ЧТ in Что and Чтобы pronounced as [sh]
It is more a special case than a rule, because in other words with ЧТ the pronunciation is [cht]
e.g., Чтение [chteniye] - reading, Почта [pochta] - post office etc.

However if you go to St-Petersburg you might come across an old lady or a gentleman saying:
Что [chto] or Конечно - [kanechna] - of course, when they pronounce Ч as it is written.
So it isn't a mistake to say [chto] but it might sound a bit old-fashioned, archaic.

Hope that will help
Elvira I (russianeasy.com)

Thank you. That's a helpful answer.