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|
Mandarin Chinese ....Other Sounds |
| Retroflex
sounds are made by curling your tongue back as you say them. The American English 'r' is an example. These Pinyin sounds are retroflex: |
|
| zhang1 (cockroach), zhuang1 (village) | |
| chang1 (rich), chuang1 (window) | |
| shang1 (business), shuang1 (two) | |
| rang2 (pulp), re3 (annoy), ri4 ji4 (diary) | |
| . |
. huar1 (flower), wanr2 (to play), yi1 dianr3 (a bit) (notice how h is pronounced a little like the Scottish loch, and also how the n's disappear in wan and dian if r is added) |
| Pinyin initial consonants: a summary |
Pinyin | Example | Description |
| zh | dj (tongue curled back) | ||
| j | dj (tongue touches palate) | ||
| ch | ch (tongue curled back) | ||
| q | ch (tongue touches palate) | ||
| sh | sh (tongue curled back) | ||
| x | sh (tongue near palate) | ||
|
c |
ts (tongue touches top teeth) | ||
| z | dz (tongue touches top teeth) | ||
| s | s | ||
| r | r (tongue curled back) | ||
| p | p (+ a puff of air) | ||
| k | k (+ a puff of air) | ||
| t | t (+ a puff of air) | ||
| d | d (tongue touches palate, not teeth) | ||
| f | f | ||
| m | m | ||
| g | g |
Our warmest thanks go to ...
| Speaker | Geographical origin | Date of recording | Approx age |
|
Wang
Kui |
Mianyang,
Sichuan Mianyang, Sichuan |