Questions tagged [pronunciation]
Questions regarding the correct consonants, vowels, tone, stress, rhythm and intonation of a word in spoken Chinese
331
questions
-3
votes
2answers
59 views
I wanna get a tattoo in chinese, how would it look to native chinese? [closed]
處世若無毫末善 死將何物答冥候
it's from a poem. how does it sound and look? what would you think if you see a foreign guy tattooed with that?
1
vote
1answer
53 views
Do any Chinese languages or dialects contain a rolled/trilled R?
From 20:00 to 22:00 of this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnMeISMY6eM), the speaker appears to pronounce the R sound with standard Mandarin pronunciation in 若 and 仍然. However, he rolls the R ...
4
votes
2answers
332 views
Is the ''a'' in ''ta'' pronounced as the ''a'' in ''tan'' or the ''a'' in ''tang''?
It just occurred to me that I've been pronouncing the ''a'' in ba, da, fa, ga, ha, ka, la, ma, na, pa, sa, the same. But I've been pronouncing the ''a'' in ta differently. Like the ''a'' in ''ang''.
...
1
vote
1answer
75 views
Different accents/dialects applicable to the pinyin “r” sound
When I first began learning Mandarin and was struggling with some of the different pronunciations I heard 2 different representations of the "r" sound in pinyin. The first representation suggested to ...
0
votes
1answer
85 views
How do I pronounce 用勿着 in Shanghainese?
There isn't a pronunciation for it on Wiktionary, and I don't know whether it is a fossilised or an analysable phrase, so therefore I don't know whether or not right-prominent tone sandhi applies. My ...
0
votes
3answers
174 views
How to pronounce 學 “shwehh”, “shoo-ehh”, or “xüüehh”?
According to pinyin pronunciation guides, 學 should be pronounced x + ü + e with a rising tone. This should verbally sound something like
1) a shh- with tip of tongue close to your bottom teeth ...
2
votes
1answer
55 views
Pronounciation of unstressed vowels
In San Duanmu's Standard Chinese phonology it goes over unstressed vowels and mentions that they change in unstressed syllables. e.g.
a, e, (a, ɤ) > ə [报上 pau ʂaŋ > pau ʐəŋ]
ou > o [木头 muthou > muto]...
1
vote
2answers
169 views
Is there a usage for 𦍌 as “rèn”?
Is there a usage for 𦍌 as "rèn" ? I cannot find examples with this pronunciation.
I understand the usages as yáng, jiāng, & qiāng, as explained by dROOOze and others in what-is-the-top-part-of-...
2
votes
1answer
60 views
How to pronounce English words in Chinese
Say you have a word in English like "stone" or "parabola". How do you write that in Chinese literally so that it is pronounced in Chinese like it is in English? That is, you can write the pinyin ...
0
votes
2answers
51 views
What is the correct pronunciation of 辫发？
Google Translate and 查查在线词典 both say 辫发 ought to be biànfǎ, but Baidu says biànfā. What is correct?
3
votes
1answer
124 views
How should I understand the pronunciation of 驾驶证 (jiàshǐ zhèng) as 酱汁儿 (jiàng zhī er)?
I was reading this website ( https://pinyin.sogou.com/zimeiti/article/1255 ) to understand colloquial Beijing Mandarin and came across this pronunciation for 驾驶证
驾驶证 > "酱汁儿", i.e Jiàshǐ zhèng > jiàng ...
3
votes
1answer
59 views
N+ T Assimilation in natural Mandarin
I've been noticing that sometimes when a t or d follows a final -n it becomes n. For instance, one friend (from Nanjing) pronounced 今天 Jīntiān as Jīntnian, and another (from Beijing) pronounced 运动 ...
1
vote
1answer
91 views
History of the pronunciation of 辰
Today, it is pronounced chén in Mandarin.
However, in Chữ Nôm, this character is used for the sound thì. This is surprising, since most Chữ Nôm characters either borrow the meaning of existing ...
0
votes
0answers
85 views
“Why” in Beijing Dialect
I've been wondering how to correctly say "why" in Beijing dialect.
I know that in colloquial beijing mandarin 什么 is pronounced as shém with a final m. I thus thought the same was for 为什么 as weishem. ...
2
votes
3answers
123 views
Is the similar pronunciation of 上班, 办公 and 工作 just a coincidence?
Three important words when talking about work are
上班 (shàng bān, to go to work)
办公 (bàn gōng, to work [esp. in an office])
工作 (gōng zuò, job / work)
This can be confusing for beginners - I often get ...
1
vote
0answers
84 views
When is f not pronounced?
I've seen that in Beijing Mandarin f can be pronounced as something of a final consonant when in an unstressed syllable, e.g. 豆腐 dòu fǔ = dòuff.
However, in other cases it disappears in unstressed ...
3
votes
0answers
93 views
When is d elided?
I know that plosive consonants can change in natural Mandarin speech, like intervocalic g is almost always elided, and sometimes k, but b and p are almost never elided, but when should d be elided?
...
3
votes
1answer
158 views
What is the meaning of the tone numbers shown in Wiktionary's Mandarin pronunciation?
According to Wiktionary, the word 游泳 is pronounced as /joʊ̯³⁵ jʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/. What exactly is the meaning of the numbers 214-21(4)? The first three numbers indicate the standard falling then rising ...
1
vote
2answers
75 views
吞音 rules for Beijing Dialect
I've been wanting to learn more about beijinghua and it's been more challenging than I expected.
I've heard that sh, ch, and zh, all turn to r in beijinghua. However, I've also heard some examples ...
7
votes
2answers
525 views
How is “⿰甴曱 ⿰曱甴” read?
I was scrolling through BabelStone's PUA page when I came across the following:
For evidential purposes they also link the following picture:
Unlike some entries on the chart there is no ...
1
vote
2answers
124 views
Pronunciation of 谁/誰 [duplicate]
What is the relation between the two pronunciations shéi and shuí of 谁?
Ross and Ma Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar seems not to mention shuí, while two different series of readers with pinyin and ...
1
vote
1answer
61 views
Does Taiwanese accent pronounce 他 as hā or am I hearing the end of tā?
Watching A Sun (Taiwanese drama, available on Netflix) it sounds to me like the characters are saying 他 as hā. This seems to be true even when people aren't speaking particularly quickly. Am I hearing ...
1
vote
1answer
52 views
栅 pronunciation - zhà vs. shān
As far as I know, the normal pronunciation of 栅 as in 栅栏 is zhà, but there is another pronunciation shān listed in dictionaries. Are both pronunciations in common use?
1
vote
3answers
160 views
Reading of 匙 meaning “key” (as in 钥匙)
Essentially the same as this question, but the solutions there don't seem applicable here. Both isolated and in compounds, I can only find 匙 as either shi⁰ or chi² “spoon”.
Can this character in this ...
3
votes
2answers
138 views
-uan pinyin pronunciation
It seems to me that in Mandarin, two different vowel sounds are used for words whose pinyin ends with -uan.
In some words, like 全 (quán) and 元 (yuán), the vowel sounds like "oo-en" (the nucleus/coda ...
1
vote
2answers
83 views
What's the difference in pronunciation between kuàir and kuàr?
块儿 (kuàir) = a slice, etc.
跨儿 (kuàr) = "trans", in the sense of "transgender".
Reading these aloud, I don't notice a distinction in pronunciation, but it seems like there should be.
Question: What's ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Why e is pronounced differently in de (的, 地) and ye (也,夜)?
I got confused because sometimes e is pronounced differently in various words. For example: (的, 地) and ye (也,夜)
Can you explain and give me some tricks to remember? Thank you!
4
votes
2answers
137 views
What's the difference in pronunciation between “yo” and “you” in pinyin?
I have no idea, for example, of what the difference in pronounciation between 唷 when pronounced with the first tone and 优.
If there's no difference, why are they written differently in pinyin?
4
votes
1answer
99 views
Are there any phonetic pangrams for Mandarin and other Chinese languages?
A phonetic pangram is a bit of text which uses all the sounds, or phonemes, in a language (as opposed to the letters of characters). Very useful for practising pronunciation. This is one in English:
...
0
votes
0answers
62 views
Rules for pronouncing Rules for pronouncing 著 as zhe5 or zhao2? [duplicate]
Are there rules to know when to pronounce 著 as zhe5 or zhao2?
1
vote
3answers
136 views
Difference between j, q, x sounds and z, c, s sounds?
I'm struggling with some sounds in Chinese. I can't distinguish J, Q, X initials and Z, C, S initials. I feel that they are pronounced similarly.
Am I right? Can you tell me how to pronounce these ...
1
vote
3answers
437 views
How to create word/character sequence in Chinese that sounds the same as a word in English (or any other language)
Say I have a word in English "fooboo". What if I want it to be pronounced in Chinese as "fooboo" as well? My first attempt is to search in pinyin for "fu" and "bu". Fu gives results like 副 and 付. Bu ...
2
votes
2answers
61 views
Correct pronunciation of “和” [duplicate]
I know when it comes to names, it's pronounced "he" in "何", but my question is what about the regular:
我和你
I think it should be "han" in "漢", but some people say "he", so my question is what is ...
0
votes
1answer
69 views
srs deck testing intonations/pronunciations of words with multiple characters
I've recently started studying Chinese, and I'm having trouble hearing the tones for words with multiple characters. For instance, I have trouble hearing the difference between 汉语 (hànyǔ) and 韩语 (...
1
vote
1answer
130 views
《庄子》人间世篇名读音及其解释讨论(Zhuangzi discussion)
《庄子》内七篇，曰：逍遥游、齐物论、养生主、人间世、德充符、大宗师、应帝王。
吾见今主流皆解人间世篇名作人间社会，而亦有异见作人处社会解，甚以为然。
庄子善寓言、重言、卮言。人间世多假人口而述己，略可剖为：颜回请行孔子，叶公子高使齐语孔子，颜阖傅太子而问蘧伯玉，匠石不顾栎社，南伯子綦异大木，孔子适楚遇接舆 等章。
纵观南华，庄子喻人以处己，而非论世以砭弊，故也人间世作人处世，读去声，明矣。
...
2
votes
3answers
116 views
What is the relationship between 尉-shaped characters and the pronuncation yu?
I'm curious about the relationship between 尉-shaped characters and the pronunciation yu. I'm not sure if this is just a Sichuanese thing or not, but here's what I know:
In some Sichuanese topolects ...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
When is “得” pronounced “de” and when is it pronounced “dei”?
I have noticed that there are two different pronunciations of 得： - Usually it's pronounced "de". - in some situations it's pronounced "dei" as in:
老百姓想自强
那就得学习点别人先进的东西。
When is “得” pronounced “de” ...
1
vote
4answers
186 views
shénmo pronounced as homophone of 什麼 shénme
According to ''Wiedenhof's A Grammar of Mandarin'', page 415, shénmo is also a possible transliteration of 什麼 shénme, with their final vowels being schwas.
In what contexts is this true?
5
votes
2answers
1k views
When is “了” pronounced “le” and when is it pronounced “liao”?
I have noticed that there are two different pronunciations of 了：
- Usually it's pronounced "le".
- in some situations it's pronounced "liǎo"
for example:
我用了很多年才了解什么是武术。
As much as I realized, ...
1
vote
1answer
58 views
Pronunciation of final -o
According to Wiedenhof's A Grammar of Mandarin, page 43,
The final spelled as -o is only combined with the initials b-, p-,
m-, f-. This vowel matches the vowel part of the final -uo [wɔ].
...
2
votes
2answers
86 views
“Weng” syllables rhyme with the fnal -ong
According to Wiedenhof's A Grammar of Mandarin, page 44,
"Weng" syllables rhyme with the fnal -ong [ʊŋ]
However, he'd specified weng as [wʌŋ], to add
Weng displays the same type of variation as ...
3
votes
1answer
121 views
Do native English speakers naturally speak in the 4th tone?
I've been scratching my head for quite a while now because I've been trying way to hard to pronounce words in the 4th tone. I understand how it's supposed to work (with tone decreasing) but it felt ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
Prononciation of Suzhou
What is the pronunciation of the city Suzhou?
Here, it looks like she says "Shu dshjo". Here it's more "Shu djo". Here it sounds more like "Su djo".
0
votes
1answer
79 views
Why does Pleco give so many pronunciations of 欸?
Above is a screenshot of Pleco's "sentence" page for 欸 which displays 5 different pronunciations. This puzzles me.
Question: Why does Pleco give so many pronunciations of 欸?
My impression is that 欸 ...
5
votes
3answers
173 views
Does pronunciation of a vowel change with tones?
As it is extremely hard to find a good online summary of all Pinyin pronunciation rules, I am listening the sounds in a Pinyin chart: https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-pinyin-chart.php . I have read ...
1
vote
3answers
98 views
Pronunciation of the vowel “i” in Pinyin si
What is the pronunciation of the vowel I in Pinyin si? /ɪ/, /ɘ/ or /ɨ/ ? Each website I read describe it differently.
Please answer using IPA symbols.
1
vote
1answer
162 views
Pronunciation of Z and C in Pinyin
What is the correct pronunciation of the letters Z and C in Pinyin? Chinese phonology wikipedia says that Z is pronounced /ts/ and C is pronounced /tsʰ/, but several websites and videos say they are ...
8
votes
1answer
314 views
How did 秘 “bi” become “mi”?
I came across this comment just now:
“秘”声符是“必”没问题，但是并不是说“秘”和“必”一定同音，“秘”这个字是北京话读错了，其实应该读bi，“秘鲁”一词还残存bi的读音
Which got me thinking.
秘 is still read "bi" in:
surnames
transcriptions (e.g.: Peru)
...
8
votes
1answer
216 views
How was Switzerland transliterated into Chinese?
So, my real question is: did 瑞 used to be pronounced suì in 官话?
My roundabout way at getting to this is from the transliteration of Switzerland.
Let's look at Chengduese.《现代汉语方言音库 • 成都话音档》records 瑞 ...
3
votes
1answer
98 views
Question about third tone sandhi in two specific cases
I know of the commonly cited rules for third tones, which are the following (copied from somewhere else, so excuse the grammatical errors):
"When word with the 3rd tone is used alone, or used at the ...
