Learn the top five Chinese mistakes to avoid
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to The Ultimate Chinese Pronunciation Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn the top 5 Chinese pronunciation mistakes to avoid. |
| These are common mistakes that students of Chinese tend to make. So pay close attention and make sure that you don't make these same mistakes too. |
| Are you ready? Then let's get started! |
| "TONES" Number 1: Tones |
| Chinese is a tonal language. |
| The tones are a major challenge for Chinese learners of all levels, but they can't be avoided. Using the wrong tone can give a word a completely different meaning and lead to miscommunication. |
| 吗 ma (interrogative particle) |
| 妈 mā (mom) |
| 麻 má (hemp) |
| 马 mǎ (horse) |
| 骂 mà (scold) |
| In particular, learners have a hard time with the third tone. |
| Listen to an example which uses this tone. |
| 你 |
| It's the most unique tone out of all the tones because the pitch dips and then rises. |
| 你 (slow) |
| Imagine a ball bouncing on the ground as you make this tone. |
| Down and up. |
| We'll discuss the tones in detail in lessons 8 and 9." |
| "MISPRONOUNCING U" Number 2: Mispronouncing the U sound. |
| English speakers tend to read the pinyin U like the 'oo' in 'good'. |
| This is incorrect. |
| It should be more like the double O sound in the word 'boot'. |
| u |
| u (slow) |
| Whenever you're pronouncing the Chinese U, imagine a little girl pouting and saying 'no' in Chinese. |
| 不 (exaggerate this sound) |
| You want to round your lips as much as possible. |
| It's better to overexaggerate than to make the wrong sound. |
| "PRONOUNCING 人 INCORRECTLY" Number 3: Pronouncing 'people' incorrectly. |
| Many people tend to mispronounce the E sound in the word 'people'. |
| They commonly substitute it for the English E as in 'red'. |
| This is incorrect. The Chinese E sounds more like an 'ugh' sound. |
| 人 |
| It's identical to the E sound at the end of the word 'problem'. |
| In fact, the Chinese E is a very special sound because it's the most neutral of all sounds. |
| It requires the least amount of effort to pronounce because you don't have to move your lips, tongue OR mouth. |
| All you need to do is relax and have everything in a resting position, and just let your vocal cords do the rest. |
| e |
| 人 (slow) |
| We'll take an in-depth look at the vowel sounds in the next lesson. |
| "PRONOUNCING Q AS CH" Number 4: Pronouncing the Chinese Q as a 'ch' sound. |
| This is one of the biggest mistakes for students of Chinese. |
| There are many 'ch' like sounds in Chinese, all of which are distinct. |
| The challenge for English speakers is to first *perceive* the difference and then to recreate it. |
| The Chinese Q sound should be pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the bottom teeth, while the blade of the tongue laying flat behind the front teeth. |
| 钱 |
| We'll break down the differences between the 'ch' sounds of Chinese in lesson 7. |
| "ADDING AN R SOUND AT THE END OF 吃" Number 5: Adding an R sound to the end of 'to eat'. |
| 吃 |
| Students of Chinese tend to add an R sound in the middle or at the end of a word. |
| This generally occurs when the speaker isn't used to pronouncing the Chinese CH. The Chinese CH requires you to place your tongue in a position that you're unfamiliar with. |
| If you're an English speaker, your brain naturally assumes that you're trying to pronounce an English R due to muscle memory. Try to be wary of this when you're practicing the Chinese CH. |
| We'll cover 'ch' like sounds in lesson 7. |
| Now you know the top 5 Chinese pronunciation mistakes to avoid. |
| Try to be careful so that you don't commit these same mistakes. Still feel a bit worried? Over the rest of this series we'll cover all of these topics in depth. |
| In the next lesson, we'll start learning vowel sounds in Chinese. |
| Which of these five mistakes is the hardest to avoid? Have you learned any tricks to deal with them? Let us know in the comments. |
| Stick with us and you'll overcome these quickly! |
| See you in the next Ultimate Chinese Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
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