Editing Retroflex consonant (section)

===Other sounds===
Retroflex sounds must be distinguished from other consonants made in the same parts of the mouth:
*the [[palato-alveolar consonant]]s (e.g., {{IPA|[ʃ ʒ]}}), such as the ''sh'', ''ch'' and ''zh'' occurring in [[English language|English]] words like ''ship'', ''chip'' and ''vision''
*the [[alveolo-palatal consonant]]s (e.g., {{IPA|[ɕ ʑ]}}), such as the ''j, q'' and  ''x'' occurring in [[Mandarin Chinese]]
*the [[dorsal consonant|dorsal]] [[palatal consonant]]s (e.g., {{IPA|[ç ʝ ɲ]}}), such as the ''ch'' {{IPA|[ç]}} in [[German language|German]] ''ich'' or the ''ñ'' {{IPA|[ɲ]}} in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''año''
*the [[sulcalization|grooved]] [[alveolar consonant]]s (e.g., {{IPA|[s z]}}), such as the ''s'' and ''z'' occurring in [[English language|English]] words like ''sip'' and ''zip''

The first three types of sounds above have a convex tongue shape, which gives them an additional [[secondary articulation]] of [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalization]].  The last type has a groove running down the center line of the tongue, which gives it a strong hissing quality.  The retroflex sounds, however, have a flat or concave shape, with no associated palatalization, and no groove running down the tongue.  The term "retroflex", in fact, literally means "bent back" (concave), although consonants with a flat tongue shape are commonly considered retroflex as well.

The [[velar bunched approximant]] found in northern varieties of [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and some varieties of [[American English]] is acoustically similar to the retroflex approximant. It is articulated with the body of the tongue bunched up at the velum.