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I'm aware that 谢 (xiè) and 写 (xiě) are theoretically meant to sound the same (ignoring tones):
谢 has the bopomofo/zhuyin ㄒㄧㄝˋ
写 has the bopomofo/zhuyin ㄒㄧㄝˇ
But, to my ear at least, when people say 谢 it sounds like it rhymes with "ear", and when people say 写 it sounds like it rhymes with "air". They genuinely sound quite different to me. Maybe I'm just wrong about this, so...
Question: Do 谢 and 写 sound different (ignoring the tones)?
They are the same to the native ears. But I do have a theory why you feel like that.
Tones affect the length of a syllable. Tone 3 is the longest one, while Tone 4 is very short.
The glide /j/ is always short. With Tone 3, the prolonged time is achieved mainly by the main vowel /e/, so you hear /e/ more. With Tone 4, the syllable is short, cutting the time of vowel /e/, and /j/ is more catchy to your ears.
