Digraphs
Polish orthography uses the following digraphs:
| Digraph | Usual value | Rough English equivalent |
Other values |
|---|---|---|---|
| ch | /x/ | Scots loch | if voiced |
| cz | /t͡ʂ/ | chat | if voiced |
| dz | /d͡z/ | bids | when devoiced (cf. C above) |
| dź | /d͡ʑ/ | jeep | when devoiced (cf. Ć above) |
| dż | /d͡ʐ/ | jump | when devoiced (cf. cz) |
| rz | /ʐ/ | See Ż above | when devoiced (cf. sz) |
| sz | /ʂ/ | shock | if voiced |
There are also digraphs and trigraphs in which the letter i is used to denote that the preceding consonant is palatal or palatized: ci, dzi, gi, (c)hi, ki, ni, si, zi (see below).
In occasional words, letters that normally form a digraph are pronounced separately. For example, rz represents /rz/, not /ʐ/, in words like zamarzać ("freeze") and in the name Tarzan.
Read more about this topic: Polish Orthography