Master Chinese "zh ch sh r" | Pronunciation Training

Hello, I'm Grace. Welcome back to my channel. Many students have difficulty with these “zh ch sh r” sounds. If you are one of them, or simply want to improve your

pronunciation

to sound more like a native, don't miss today's video. Because in this video I am going to tell you what the differences are between these four sounds and I will also help you practice them. So, I know that these sounds are quite similar to some in English, like /dʒ/, like “just” /tʃ/, like “touch”. /ʃ/, like “push.” But in reality these are not the same Chinese sounds. In Chinese we don't have these sounds and in English we don't have our “zh ch sh r” sounds.

So, I think the best way to learn these unique Chinese sounds is to know where to put your lips and tongue, try to let your mouth get used to the position, and keep practicing. Well, without further ado, let's get into it! I'll start with the most basic one: sh ㄕ By the way, the symbol next to the Pinyin is Zhuyin, which are the phonetic symbols we use in Taiwan. Well, the first thing we should do is take a look at sh ㄕ's IPA. So you might be wondering what IPA is and why we should look at it.

So let me explain it to you briefly. IPA is the International Phonetic Alphabet, through it we can understand how we produce those specific sounds. So the IPA for the sh ㄕ sound is this: /ʂ/, yap seems a little weird, but it's very, very useful. First of all, you may notice that there is a curve here. It means that to make this sound, we must curl our tongue and let the tip point to the position shown in the image. The tip of the tongue will be a little close to the palate, but without touching it. And then you let the air out through your mouth to express your voice. sh ok, practice with me: sh sh sh Then let's move on to the next one: zh ㄓ Base on the tongue position of the last “sh”, this one just adds a few movements.

Then you can make this "zh" sound. The IPA of “zh” is this /ʈʂ/, and here you can also see the curve, so it means that we also need to curve the tongue. The position of the tongue is exactly the same as in “sh”. So what is the difference? You can see that the IPA of “zh” has an additional symbol: /ʈ/, so it means that to make the sound “zh”, you must first block the air in your mouth and then let it out. The way to block the air is very simple, let's look at the picture first, curl your tongue and let the tip of your tongue touch the position I pointed out, and then start to let the air pass through your mouth.

Your tongue is stuck to the position I indicated, so the air cannot escape and this means that you have successfully blocked the air. The next thing we should do is let the tip of your tongue go down a little and let the air in. Then you can make the "zh" sound. Ok, practice with me: zh zh zh Next is "ch ㄔ". The tongue position is the same as "zh" and "sh". It is quite similar to the last “zh” /ʈʂ/. It also has an additional /ʈ/ symbol here. So you know what it means, it means you have to block the air first.

Look at the “zh” and “ch” IPA. The only difference is that "ch" has a small "h" here that "zh" does not. The little “h” means that when you say this sound you need to exhale more forcefully. Ok, let me show you with a piece of paper. When I pronounce the last “zh” that doesn't have an “h” in its IPA, the paper doesn't move. On the other hand, when I pronounce “ch”, the paper will move because the air coming out of my mouth is stronger. So the force of the air coming out of your mouth is the difference between pronouncing "zh" and "ch." Let's practice “ch" together: ch ch ch The last one, “r” ㄖ, also confuses many students.

But this one is actually not that complicated to learn, if you already know how to pronounce “sh”. Due to the position of the tongue “r” is exactly the same as with “sh”. Everything is the same, you don't have to block the air, you don't have to touch any position in the mouth, you just curl your tongue and let the tip of your tongue point to the. same position of "sh" and then let the air out. Now, I'm going to tell you the secret to making "sh" and "r" different from each other" is a voiced sound, which means you need to use your strings. vocals, let them vibrate stronger.

You can put your hand on your throat and feel that: when you pronounce "r", the vibration should be stronger than. pronounce “sh”. Ok, practice with me: r r r After you are aware of the differences of these four sounds, let's practice them together: First, let's practice “zh”ㄓ and “ch”ㄔ: Do you remember the distinction between them? is the force of the air, the air is stronger when you pronounce “ch”: 知道吃飯直到遲到 Next, let's practice “sh” ㄕ and “r” ㄖ: The difference is that when you pronounce “r” ㄖ, your voice The strings They vibrate stronger. r勢力日曆柿子日子 OK, that's all for today. I will put this information and the images from this video in my brochure.

So if you want to get it, remember to go to my instagram and find it. Another thing is that I will do more

pronunciation

training

in the future, so if there are some consonants or vowels in Chinese that bother you a lot, remember to leave a comment below and let me know. See you next time, bye!