Questions tagged [spoken]
For questions about spoken Chinese (aka "oral Chinese" or "verbal Chinese"); consider also the [pronunciation] tag.
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Why is 的 (de) sometimes pronounced "di" even though it is used as a possessive particle?
I've noticed sometimes the word 的 is pronounced as "di" rather than "de".
I'm aware that there is a valid use of 的 with pronunciation "di", which means "really and trully".
However for the sentence: ...
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Where to practice speaking Chinese?
Living in Utah, I find it quite difficult to find places to practice speaking Chinese, especially Cantonese. Apart from accosting people in stores and other public places when I happen to hear them ...
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Do acronyms borrowed from English use neutral tone (aka tone 0 or tone 5) for all syllables?
I was just reading a Q&A here about Chinese words for DVD and the discussion also included other acronyms from English.
It struck me that nobody wrote the pinyin for any of the terms which made ...
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How do Chinese spell English words over the phone?
In English, if I am spelling my name for someone over the phone I can use a phonetic alphabet to ensure they get my name right. Especially for potentially ambiguous letters; d and t, b and p, c and e, ...
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What software can correct pronunciation?
What software is available which can record my voice and warn me about problems with my pronunciation and tones?
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Pronounce ellipsis 《●●● ●●●》 in Mandarin
When I'm reading ellipses in English out loud I usually say et cetera or and so on. What should I say in Mandarin? 等等?
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"Actually" as a sentence-starter of speech filler
When casually speaking English I use the word "actually" a lot at the beginning of a sentance, or as part of the flow of my speech. e.g.
Actually, next semester doesn't start for a month.
...
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How can I skip characters I can't read when reading aloud?
As an example, I was at the cinema and I wanted to buy tickets for a film named
北京遇上西雅图
However, I can't read all of the characters.
In English I'd say;
Can I get a ticket for that film "北京*...
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How to hear tones in speech better
Today I mistook 化学 for 滑雪.
That's it.
How can I train my ears to better hear tones when people speak Chinese? Sometimes, the tones aren't pronounced to a level where I can physically hear them/have ...
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Describing a person that can speak Mandarin
Yesterday I met a person that can speak Mandarin. We had a nice chat and I was going over it in my head today. I want to tell another friend that I met someone that can speak mandarin, but I'm having ...
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Proper way to use sentence-final particles (like 啦 or 喽) in spoken Chinese
I know it's very common for Chinese speakers to add special particles to the end of their sentences to enhance the tone a little bit, such as adding 啊 to show excitement or 啦 to sound cute.
Just to ...
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How can I improve the speed of my spoken Chinese?
I'm currently trying to learn '听妈妈的话' on SingChineseSongs, and I'm having trouble keeping up with the fast parts. I also have trouble trying to speak terribly fast in Mandarin anyway.
Does anyone ...
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Why do Chinese "extend" the last word when speaking?
I've hear on many occasions that Chinese prolong the last word in a sentence, for example:
ni hao ma ?
becomes
ni hao maaaaa ?
(I'm not sure that's clear enough but can't think of a better way ...
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Would an ancient chinese be able to understand today's language?
In the movie "The Mummy: Tomb of the dragon emperor", an ancient chinese emperor is resurrected in 1946, and he wants to take over the world. The emperor in the film is the Dragon Emperor, ...
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How can I find the exact written versions of commonly spoken Cantonese words?
I was trying to find the written representation of the Cantonese word "to make", pronounced as "jing", by looking through the alternatives on Google Translate and reading the ...
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Why so many definitions associated with each word?
I'm learning a little Chinese out of curiosity, and I have a basic question about the language as a whole, rather than a specific technical question about a particular word or character. Sorry if this ...
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When do you use 唄 instead of 吧 to end a sentence?
I hear a lot of people in mainland China use the former (never from Taiwanese Mandarin) when saying a phrase as a sort of command, but I'm still not sure about why someone would say it.
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Is it correct to say the standard for written Chinese is Mandarin, regardless of dialect (e.g. Cantonese)?
I've looked for this question on the site but can't seem to find it. I'm interested in learning Chinese, well, Cantonese specifically, and I want to focus on both the written and spoken components. ...
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Tourists in China but can not understand Chinese
How about someone visiting China in the next few months, who does not understand their language? Is there a way to learn common words and sentences with the correct pronunciation quickly?
Thanks in ...
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Why native speakers always say "一块钱" and write "一元钱 "instead of "壹圆钱"？
The 1 RMB notes has the Chinese word "壹圆". In spoken Chinese, I hear many native speakers say "一块钱" instead of "壹圆钱"。In written Chinese, I have seen "一元钱" more than "壹圆钱".
My questions:
In spoken ...
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What is @ ("at") called when giving an email address over the phone?
What is "@" "at" called when giving an email over the phone?
Is it different in different regions? I have heard it as "XiaoLong ..." or something similar to that in Taiwan, but not sure what exactly ...
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How should I understand the absence of conjunctions in 流行音乐歌唱的大都是男女爱情、歌词贴近生活、通俗易懂、易于传唱、受到欢迎、不足为怪?
In the Coursera HSK6 course, week 5 lesson 22, part of the spoken 短文 is:
流行音乐歌唱的大都是男女爱情、歌词贴近生活、通俗易懂、易于传唱、受到欢迎、不足为怪。
[My translation]: The majority of pop music songs are male-female romance, lyrics ...
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What board games would facilitate speaking practice?
Table top (board games) games provide good opportunities for authentic and simulated communication with a group. I think such an activity would be ideal for language practice, if one had opportunities ...
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What is 'hea' (in Cantonese conversations)?
I have been seeing this word 'hea' in YouTube transcriptions involving 'relaxing' or travelling. What is the original word and how has it evolved to 'hea'? (I know it must sound similar to anglicised '...
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几 in declarative and interrogative sentence
几 has two meanings: "several" and "how many?" But I have no clear understanding of separation one from another. E.g.:
后面有几个人笑起来了. - declarative
你家有几口人? - interrogative
I know ...
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What is the difference between 好多 vs. 很多?
I'm an ABC and I find myself often using 好多. I was talking to my dad yesterday and I noticed that I said it, but something just didn't seem right. Is this correct or does it not make any sense? I'm ...
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How do Chinese speakers convey emotions by speech?
In many languages, a tone conveys emotion. Thus, a word in the first tone might be perceived as conveying an easy-off emotion by a native Russian speaker; a word in the second tone might be most ...
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What do people in Hong Kong say when you are approaching a counter to buy something?
I've often found myself at the typical 7/11 waiting in line to ring out, and almost every time the cashier will say something right before I am to purchase. It sounds something like "lao wei"...
user31212
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Pronunciation of Tang Dynasty Poetry
It was related to me that Tang Dynasty poetry is meant to be pronounced in the style of the Cantonese dialect. Is this correct, incorrect, or a subject of contention?
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How do natives pronounce the 2nd tone in regular conversation? (Pitch levels: 35, 33, or 434?)
In the thread Do tones change at the end of an interrogative sentence?
, one of the answers asserts:
SCALE KEY: 1 (low) to 5 (high). So 55 is a high level tone, 51 is a falling tone, 35 is rising, ...
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What does 你就是个托 mean, which 文佳佳 yells at Frank in the movie 北京遇上西雅图 (Finding Mr. Right)?
In the movie 北京遇上西雅图 (~13m45s), after not immediately getting her way about her room 文佳佳 yells at Frank who is helping her with her luggage:
(Alternative image link.)
你就是个托 我算是看清楚了
It means "...
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Is there any way to make a Chinese speech transcribed to written format?
Here is my situation: I have learned Mandarin mostly from reading news articles and chatting with friends, as well as reading a grammar book and memorizing vocabulary. That makes only my reading and ...
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How to wish people good health, etc during Chinese New Year 揮春 | 春貼 | 門聯、春仔
Every Chinese New Years I try to remember common expressions associated with huī chūn (揮春).
賀年的吉利字詞 (Hè nián de jí lì zì cí)
Some expressions that I have heard are usually only four characters. I ...
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Are the "h" in pinyin always pronounced as "[x]" in IPA?
Chinese (Mandarin) use [x] to pronounce h sound. It does not have any sounds such as [h] and [ɸ].
However, I'm not sure if it is fine to assume that all the h in pinyin are pronounced as [x]. ...
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Hong Kong Cantonese variations
I am interested to learn whether the changes in Hong Kong pronunciation of Cantonese came about, was it because the English in Hong Kong had difficulty understanding the Cantonese?
For instance, I ...
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4
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Why is speaking 书面语 ("written language") a problem?
Like a lot of HSKers, I've spent a lot of time learning from textbooks, and as a result, I sometimes unwittingly use 书面语 in my oral Chinese. A recent example is where I used 崭新, and was told this is ...
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When can nouns be used as verbs?
I’ve heard quite a few people from Mainland China say something like this:
每个周末我都会和我的父母一起视频。
I video call my parents every weekend.
Now, 视频 just means “video”, which means it is a noun.
The ...
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In Cantonese, what is a less "childish" way to call one's own parents?
I know the standard ways of calling one's parents—"媽媽/母親" or "爸爸/父親", mother and father respectively, the former more familiar and the latter more formal; or the more familiar/childish way—"媽咪" or "爹哋"...
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jiu3 pronounced as jiu4 ; linked speech feature or slip of the tongue?
Here is the intonation that is recorded in an instructional video for the clause 我已经很久都不过中秋节了 (wǒ yǐjīng hěn jiǔ dōu bú guò zhōngqiūjié le).
久 is very prominently pronounced with a descending ...
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can I get help with the concept of "balance" in chinese writing/speech?
Sorry about the broad title, but I am a newish Chinese student (just finished HSK1) and there's a concept that continually appears in my classes that I can't grasp.
Basically, there are lots of ...
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What do new Chinese speakers sound like to native Chinese speakers?
Often when I hear Asians speaking English, it is quite easy to tell if it is their first or second language.
Their pronunciation of certain words and sounds such as the hard r's and hard and soft t's ...
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How do I tell the difference between "ing" and "in"?
I grew in a family that speaks Wu Chinese, so I cannot differentiate between the "ing" sound and the "in" sound. Are there any ways to tell them apart or pronounce them differently? They sound the ...
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梨 (lí) vs 离 (lí)
How do I differentiate between "pear - 梨 (lí)" and “to leave - 离 (lí)”? They both sound exactly the same, so do I just follow the sentence to see which it is? Or is there another way to ...
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"easily fooled" in Chinese(slang)
例如, 一个人无论如何也学不会1+1=2怎么计算的时候可以说: 那个人智商 (真是) 低的发指, 怎么教都教不会.
问题: 汉语中有类似的句子描述一个人很容易上当受骗吗? 句型: 这么简单的骗术你都信, 你 (真是) XXX.
XXX中不能有人身攻击, 必须切实到被描述者的真实情况. 在上面句子中"那个人智商 (真是) 低的发指, 怎么教都教不会"前半句"客观"的描述了后半句的起因, ...
user20407
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Accent on "dou1" (all) after a subject
Let's take into consideration these examples:
Ta1 men dou1 bu4 xi3 huan1 wo3. They all dislike me.
Zhong1 guo2 de cheng2 shi4 dou1 hen3 da4. All the Chinese cities are big.
To my European brain "...
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"Today" in Spoken Singaporean Mandarin
Is "今日" or "今天" more appropriate to use when speaking Singaporean Mandarin? Is it different than the one that is used in writing?
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How to differentiate between -in and -ing final sounds in spoken Mandarin
Is there a way to distinguish between someone saying the -in and -ing sounds in (particularly Taiwanese) Mandarin speech? Especially casual, rapid speech where those finals are sandwiched in between ...
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Do dialogues like 那是四本什麼書? 那是四本國語書 sound normal or awkward?
I got the following simple Chinese dialog between a mother and her daughter.
甲：這是什麼?
乙：這是一枝毛筆。
甲：這是一枝什麼筆？
乙：這是一枝毛筆。
甲：那是本什麼書。
乙：那是本中文書。
甲：那枝是什麼筆？
乙：那枝是本毛筆。
乙：那四本是中文書。
In the dialog, the locations of ...
user32137
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1
answer
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Are there Chinese spoken language games? (like Ubbi Dubbi)
Ubbi dubbi is a language game spoken with the English language. It was popularized by the 1972-1978 PBS children's show Zoom. ... Ubbi dubbi works by adding -ub- /ʌb/ before each vowel sound in a ...
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5
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Help with tones?
Before I jump into the question, a bit of context for my situation:
I'm in Mandarin 1 currently in HS, about 7 months in from the beginning of the school year, and I'm having some problems. According ...
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