Voiceless alveolar fricative

The voiceless alveolar fricatives are a type of fricative consonant pronounced with the tip or blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge (gum line) just behind the teeth. This refers to a class of sounds, not a single sound. There are at least six types with significant perceptual differences:

The first three types are sibilants, meaning that they are made by directing a stream of air with the tongue towards the teeth and have a piercing, perceptually prominent sound.

Voiceless coronal fricatives
Dental Denti-
alveolar
Alveolar Post-alveolar
Retracted Retroflex Palato-
alveolar
Alveolo-
palatal
Sibilant plain ʂ ʃ ɕ
Non-sibilant θ θ͇ ɻ̝̊
tapped ɾ̞̊
Coronal sibilants
IPA
symbol
meaning
place
of articulation
passive
(mouth)
dental
advanced
(denti-alveolar)
alveolar
retracted
(postalveolar)
active
(tongue)
apical
laminal
ʂ retroflex
secondary palatalized coronal
ɕ alveolo-palatal
ʃ palato-alveolar
labialized coronal
velarized coronal
pharyngealized coronal
voice-onset time aspirated coronal