Sz is a digraph of the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greece, Greek city of Cumae, in southe ...

, used in Polish,

Kashubian Kashubian can refer to: * Pertaining to Kashubia, a region of north-central Poland * Kashubians, an ethnic group of north-central Poland * Kashubian language See also *Kashubian alphabet The Kashubian or Cassubian alphabet (''kaszëbsczi alf ...

, Hungarian and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and in the

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...

system of Romanization of Chinese, as well as the Hong Kong official romanization of Cantonese.

Polish

In Polish orthography, sz represents a voiceless retroflex fricative . It usually corresponds to š or ш in other Slavic languages. It is usually approximated by English speakers with the "sh" sound (and conversely, Polish speakers typically approximate the English digraph ''sh'' with the "sz" sound), although the two sounds are not completely identical. Like other Polish digraphs, it is not considered a single letter for collation purposes. sz should not be confused with ś (or s followed by i), termed "soft sh", a voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative .

Examples of sz

(''area, territory'')
(''coat, cloak'')
(''Thomas'') Compare ś:
(''candle'')
(''to go'')
(''August'')

Kashubian

, sz represents a

voiceless postalveolar fricative A voiceless postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The International Phonetic Association uses the term ''voiceless postalveolar fricative'' only for the sound , but it also describes the voiceless ...

, identical to the English "sh" or a voiceless retroflex fricative as in Polish.

Examples

:These examples are Kashubian words that use the letter sz, with the English translation following. *szãtopiérz = ''bat'' *szczawa = ''sorrel'' *szczãka = ''jaw'' *szczëka = ''pike (fish type)'' *szerszéń = ''hornet''

Hungarian

''Sz'' is the thirty-second letter of the Hungarian alphabet. It represents and is called "esz" . Thus, names like ''

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

'' are pronounced ''list.'' In Hungarian, even if two characters are put together to make a different sound, they are considered one letter (a true digraph), and even

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in '' NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, a ...

s keep the letter intact. Hungarian usage of ''s'' and ''sz'' is almost the reverse of the Polish usage. In Hungarian, ''s'' represents (a sound similar to ). Therefore, the Hungarian capital of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

is natively pronounced (), rhyming with standard English ''fleshed'' rather than ''pest''. There is also a zs in Hungarian, which is the last (forty-fourth) letter of the alphabet, following z.

Examples

These examples are Hungarian words that use the letter sz, with the English translation following: *szabó = ''tailor'' *szép = ''beautiful'' *szikla = ''rock'' *szőke = ''blonde'' *szülő = ''parent'' *szusi = ''sushi'' *Olaszország = ''Italy''

German

, it was used to represent after "long" vowels, later contracting to the ß ligature.

Wade–Giles

In the Wade–Giles system of Romanization of Chinese, is used to represent the syllabic with the "empty rime". See Wade–Giles → Empty rime.