Tongue placement is important. Use the tips below to improve your pronunciation for some of the tricker sounds in Chinese. In particular, the “r” “zh” “j” “t” “c” “u” and “ü” sounds.
It is good to practice these sounds with a native speaker.
The Chinese “r”
This is a sound that native English speakers often struggle with as most English speakers are used to forming their Rs with a relatively flat tongue.
Form this sound by raising your tongue to the roof of your mouth, similar to “ch” “sh” and “zh” sounds. This will almost instantly give you the correct type of R sound. You can alter your tongue position and ask people how it sounds in order to narrow down the exact placement.
The difference between “zh” and “j”
The “zh” is the same as the English “j” except your tongue is a little bit further back.
The Chinese “j” sound is made by saying the English “j” with your tongue kept firmly behind your front lower teeth.
The difference between “t” and “c”
This one causes Chinese people to laugh when someone asks for vinegar “醋“ and instead says ”吐“ which means to throw up. Avoid this situation by pronouncing “t” exactly as you would in English while pronouncing “c” as “ts” from the word “mats”.
Pronouncing “u” and “ü”
The “u” sound is almost identical to the English “oo” sound.
The “ü” sound is made by saying the English “ee” with rounded lips. If you round your lips and tense your tongue you will notice that you are no longer saying “ee” but the chinese “ü” sound!
- Say “ee” – notice that your mouth opens wide to do this.
- Keep your tongue behind your front lower teeth.
- Round your lips – This changes the “ee” sound to “ü”.
It’samazing how a small change in lip/tongues placement can produce such a large difference in the sounds we make.