Chinese Pronunciation

from Chinese language learning memo

• Not self-evident
  • xue becomes xüe

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• Pronunciation of Chinese
• Personal notes
• Consonants
  • Mechanism
    • Forming sounds with the shape and movement of the mouth
  • Labial sounds (shinon)
    • m
      • Similar to ma, mi, mu, me, mo
    • f
      • Similar to the English f sound
    • p
      • As it is an aspirated sound, it includes an explosive sound to avoid confusion with b
    • b
      • b is just an unaspirated p, it’s almost like p.
      • b is not a voiced sound!
        • It might sound slightly voiced, but not much.
    • Difference between p and b
      • When saying “ba,” the transition from consonant to vowel is smooth.
      • When saying “pa,” there is a slight interruption of air (h) between the consonant and vowel, creating a subtle hitch.
        • This difference in rhythm allows for distinction.
  • Alveolar sounds
    • t/d
      • Aspirated and unaspirated sounds
    • n
      • Press the tongue firmly against the alveolar ridge
  • Postalveolar sounds
    • It’s better to imagine pressing the tongue against the teeth rather than the conscious sounds of “katakata” or English.
    • z

      • As it is an unaspirated sound, try not to let any air escape.

        • It’s similar to “tsu,” but it can have a slight z sound.
        • z

      • ⭐ zi is closer to “tsu” than “tsi”

        • Pronounce it without changing the shape of the lips from the consonant position.
        • Therefore, without pulling the lips to the left or right, the maximum sound “zi” is closer to “tsu.”
        • Difference between zi and ze:
          • zi is not a sound from the back of the throat
          • ze is a sound close to “o” from the back of the throat
    • c
      • It’s an aspirated sound, pronounced as “tsu”
      • ⭐ ci is the same as zi
    • s
      • ⭐ si is the same as zi
  • Retroflex sounds
    • 
    • zh
      • It was good that my mouth remembered the practice I did in the past (blu3mo)
        • Imagine creating a round space below.
      • Vibrating the tongue considerably
      • ⭐️ zhi is not “jee”
        • Don’t change the shape of the mouth, don’t forcefully pull the mouth.
        • Pronouncing “i” in that state creates a muffled, strange sound.
    • ch
      • Same position as zh, aspirated sound
      • Quite different from the Japanese “cha”
      • ⭐️ chi is the same exception as zhi
    • sh
      • Same position as zh, but slightly widening the passage of air
      • ⭐️ shi is the same exception as zhi
    • r
      • Same position as zh, but without touching the tongue
        • About halfway between “ri” and “ji”
      • It seems that if you pronounce the English r sound in the same position as zh, it will be fine (blu3mo)
  • Retroflex sounds
    • j
      • Unaspirated sound, closer to “jee”
      • The mouth is slightly retracted, which is the difference from zh
      • j is like “j” sound
      • ⭐️ ju becomes jü
        • Pronounce it without changing the shape of the lips from the consonant position
    • q
      • Aspirated sound, pronounced as “chi”
    • x
      • Same position as j, “shi” sound
  • Velar sounds
    • Similar to the feeling when saying “ng” in “unexpected”
      • The back of the throat is closed, and no air comes out.
      • g is like “g” sound
    • g
      • Unaspirated sound
    • k
      • Aspirated sound
    • h
      • Like “hoo~” sound(?)
      • h has a breathy “ha” sound
    • Notes
      • Difficulties with j vs q, think of them as unaspirated and aspirated sounds of “chi”
      • Difficulties with j vs ch vs zh, they all sound somewhat like “chi”
      • Difficult to distinguish between n and m
      • z, c, s are pronounced on the upper part of the lower teeth
    • Exceptions
      • Pay attention to i
        • After the postalveolar sounds (z, c, s), i changes, e.g., zi = tsu
        • After the retroflex sounds, i changes
        • When j, q, or x come before ü, ü becomes u
• Vowels
  • Monophthongs
    • Generally, move the mouth more exaggeratedly than in Japanese
    • e is pronounced by opening the mouth wide like u
      • It is formed from the back of the throat
    • yi and wu should be pronounced with the awareness of y and w
    • ü is pronounced with the mouth of u and the sound of i
      • When “yu” is extended, it becomes “yuuuuu,” but when “ü” is extended, it remains “üüüüüü”
  • Diphthongs
    • Can mostly be pronounced using Japanese sounds- Before and after the main vowels, you can go by feeling.
  • I don’t know if it’s from previous memory or intuition.
• ⭐Transformations/Omissions
  • yue is not “yue” but “üe”.
  • y is ü.
  • w is u.
  • Xue is actually Xyue=xüe.
  • Xun is
    • Xuen for all cases except j,q,x.
    • xün for j,q,x.
  • Xiu is actually Xiou.
  • Xui is actually Xuei.
• Words with g
  • Default: n/ng
    • n: “n” like in “hannarii”.
      • The tip of the tongue is at the alveolar ridge (the position of d or t).
    • ng: “ng” like in “hangarii”.
      • In “-ng”, the root of the tongue is at the soft palate (the position of g or k).
        • It’s easier to understand if you think of it as a different part of the tongue being used (blu3mo).
  • ⭐Exceptions
    • ian
      • a becomes a little like e and becomes “yen”.
        • Tricky: yan is actually ian, so it’s “yen”.
    • eng
      • It’s not “e” but the shape of the Chinese e.
      • There is a hint of o.
    • ing becomes a little like yi(ü)ng.
    • ün is pronounced as “yün”, with a clear “yü”.
• Erhua
  • It has a childish nuance (erhua = child sound).
  • ⭐When ir, nr, or ngr, i, n, and ng are dropped.
    • When ng is dropped in ngr, the sound of r becomes slightly nasal.
  • ⭐️Er can also be used as it is, not erhua, as part of a word.
• Tones
  • When there is a 3rd tone followed by another 3rd tone, it changes to a 2nd tone.
  • ⭐️Neutral tone
    • 
    • Certain words have a neutral tone.
      • There may be some variation depending on the dictionary.
  • ⭐️Changes in “bu”
    • If it is followed by "", it becomes “bu/”.
    • If it is sandwiched between other characters, it becomes a neutral tone.
• Changes in “yi”
  • If it is used as a number, it remains as ”-“.
  • If it is followed by 1, 2, or 3, it becomes 4.
  • If it is followed by 4, it becomes 2.
  • If it is sandwiched between special characters, it becomes neutral tone.
• If v (3rd tone) is followed by anything other than 3, it just becomes a lower tone (half 3rd tone goes from mid to bottom, \ goes from top to bottom).
• vv becomes /v.