Questions tagged [pronunciation]
Questions on specific points regarding the ability to use the correct consonants, vowels, tone, stress, rhythm and intonation of a word in a spoken Chinese
300
questions
6
votes
2answers
919 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!
3
votes
2answers
101 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
67 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
61 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
94 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
414 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
56 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
60 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
91 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
83 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
58 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
172 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
722 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
53 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].
...
1
vote
0answers
44 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
106 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
49 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
70 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
152 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
1answer
62 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.
0
votes
1answer
86 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
298 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)
...
7
votes
1answer
193 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
88 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 ...
3
votes
3answers
142 views
曲子 pronunciation
I'm usually confused with the light tone thing. Here I have the word 曲子 which according to the Internet should be pronounced as qǔzi. However, I have heard some people pronounce it as qū (1st tone) zǐ ...
4
votes
2answers
143 views
Pronunciation of “轧” in 富顺(县)?
《富顺方言》has an entry that reads:
【轧】
读音：ōā（连读）
释义：碾压，轧扎。
举例：1、小心车子轧斗人！
2、有一道菜叫“轧海椒”，下饭安逸得板。
The thing that is confusing me is the:
读音：ōā（连读）
I've checked in the actual print edition of ...
1
vote
1answer
97 views
Help with song lyrics pronunciation （我的新衣）?
So I was listening to the song "我的新衣” by Vava, and at a point the rapper Ty sings. And for some reason in this verse走到街上就像一千台进口奔驰 instead of 街 I listen he raps kāi. Can someone please tell me what he ...
5
votes
3answers
298 views
Pronounciation of 腺
Quoting Wiktionary, the glyph origin of the character 「腺」 is as follows:
A 国字 (kokuji, “Japanese-coined character”) coined in the late 1700s–early 1800s by rangaku scholar Udagawa Genshin as a ...
0
votes
4answers
198 views
Why does 努力 which means “to make a great effort” sound so similar to 奴隸 which means “slave”?
I find it interesting that these two are phonetically similar. Is there a historical background to this?
3
votes
1answer
55 views
Origin of transliteration of ~j/sw to ~r in Mandarin
In Malaysia/Singapore, “Raja” is often transliterated to 拉惹，although Wikipedia uses 拉者as the name for its article on the title.
e.g. Ayer Rajah 亚逸拉惹
Perlis’s Raja 玻璃市拉惹（https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/zh-...
0
votes
2answers
84 views
Should the second character in 回来了 be pronounced with second or fourth tone?
I almost always hear 来 pronounced as lài in 回来了, but are there any rules of tone sandhi that account for this?
2
votes
2answers
150 views
Pronunciation of 辆
So this morning I was trying to have a conversation in mandarin with my Malaysian Chinese friends. During the conversation, I pronounced 辆 in 4th tone just the way I learned online. Apparently, they ...
2
votes
2answers
89 views
How to distinguish two words the same pronunciation but different meaning (gāo jià)
I just wonder about how to distinguish the words 高价 vs 高架. Both of them seem to have the same pronunciation gāo jià.
Are there any additional cues for distinguishing them in a sentence? or Do people ...
0
votes
2answers
831 views
How to pronounce the word 月 (Yue) in English？
Could anybody help me to pronounce the Chinese word 月 (Yue)?
Is there any word in English whose pronunciation is similar to this?
3
votes
1answer
79 views
Unusual looking characters at a temple in Hong Kong?
(source)
It's from the Tsz Shan Monastery in the New Territories in Hong Kong. And I reading it up-down, left-right, or simply left to right on both levels? Many thanks to whoever can help.
0
votes
1answer
53 views
Are begging and ball homonyms in spoken mandarin?
Are 求 (beg) and 球 (ball) both written in pinyin as Qiú homonyms? I am trying to get the pronunciation for ball right. Are there authoritative homonym lists maintained somewhere?
2
votes
6answers
174 views
Where is 肉 pronunced “you”?
I have heard 肉 pronounced you (not sure of the tone, 4th probably, as in: yòu) on multiple occasions. It seems to be a northern Chinese thing - as opposed to a southern thing - but I'm not sure on ...
2
votes
1answer
180 views
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]. ...
2
votes
4answers
184 views
Using 反切 to determine readings of characters in modern varieties of Chinese
From my understanding, 反切 is presented in the format XY 切, where a pronunciation of a character is determined from the inital of X and the rime of Y. However, there are still some points that are ...
1
vote
3answers
131 views
Distinguish between 眼睛 (Yǎnjīng) eyes and 眼镜(Yǎnjìng) glasses
You may have know 眼睛 is eyes, and 眼镜 is glasses. They sound quite similar.
I get confused when listening to someone say "yanjing". I may not know what the speaker refers to, eyes or glasses. How do ...
0
votes
1answer
106 views
How do you pronounce Erjie?
I have an interview and the interviewer's name is Erjie. I'd like to be able to pronounce when I get there. Can anyone give me guidance on how to pronounce his name?
FWIW, the person is from ...
0
votes
1answer
85 views
Why is Higher Brothers pronouncing 你 as “nie”?
In Higher Brothers' (海尔兄弟) recent song Gong Xi Fa Cai (恭喜发财), there's a line that says:
恭喜你 恭喜你发财
I'm pretty sure they're pronouncing 你 as nie, and I've never heard it pronounced that way before. ...
2
votes
4answers
172 views
为什么 “也” 发音为 “ye” 但是 “他”发音为“ta”？？？
Oh great. I have to ask in English to get it past StackExchange filters.
Characters with radicals typically have pronunciations close to the bare character.
For example: "韦“ (wei) versus "伟“ (wei) or "...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
Should 企 be pronunciated as ㄑㄧˋ or ㄑㄧˇ?
It seems that different online dictionaries gave me different answers:
Is 企 a heteronym?
0
votes
1answer
62 views
Is the pronunciation of a heteronym in a given name indeterminable unless we ask the person personally?
There are tones of heteronyms in Chinese and when a heteronym is a given name, or a part of a given name, is asking the person (or his friends, relatives, etc.) the only way to find the pronunciation?
...
2
votes
2answers
186 views
Does Taiwanese Mandarin have the neutral tone?
So I'm trying to learn Taiwanese Mandarin, and apparently they don't really use the neutral tone, but if that's the case how do you say things like 子,了, and 的?
1
vote
1answer
90 views
Documentation of 不+“x” contractions resulting in “r” sounding initial consonant?
I've been looking for documentation showing 不+"x" contractions resulting in "r" sounding initial consonants, but to no avail.
This is an interesting phenomenon and I'm sure the regular person would ...
1
vote
2answers
78 views
Is ㄙㄨㄚˋ (sua4) for the character 嘴 from another Chinese dialect or language?
In my explorations of my area of Taichung today I noticed this sign with Zhuyin Fuhao and took a photo to look it up when I got home:
And it seems that ㄙㄨㄚˋ (sua4) is not even an existing syllable in ...
1
vote
1answer
61 views
How to pronounce several consecutive '“三声” characters? [duplicate]
It is known that the first character in a two-"三声"-character word is prounounced as "二声"。For example,
勇敢 （ㄩㄥˇ ㄍㄢˇ）is usually pronounced as "（ㄩㄥˊ ㄍㄢˇ）".
How about when in a sentence there are some ...
2
votes
2answers
130 views
Why did the actor pronounce 程, “du” instead of “cheng”?
To improve my Chinese listening, I decided to watch 天下一碗 (Tian Xia Yi Wan), as actors tend to speak with very precise and clear tones.
In the link, Liu laoye says:
"如果是一时意气用事的话, 岂不是耽误了子女的前程了吗".
I ...
