Voiceless alveolar retracted sibilant

Okay, kiddo! Have you ever heard a snake hiss before? Well, people can make a similar sound with their mouth too, but they don't need to stick out their tongue (like a snake does) to do it! This sound is called a sibilant.

Now, imagine making that hissing sound, but instead of sticking out your tongue, you press the middle of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Can you feel it? This is called an alveolar sibilant, because the middle of your tongue is pressing against the ridge (or alveolar) behind your teeth.

But wait, there's more! Some people make a slightly different version of this sound, where they retract or pull back the middle of their tongue just a bit. This makes the sound a little bit quieter and softer. And when they make this sound without using their vocal cords (which you use to talk and sing), it's called a voiceless alveolar retracted sibilant.

So, in short, a voiceless alveolar retracted sibilant is a quiet, hissing sound that some people make by pressing the middle of their tongue against the ridge behind their teeth, while also slightly pulling back their tongue. And they make this sound without using their vocal cords to talk or sing.