7 Suggestions to Improve Mandarin Pronunciation

Do people have a difficult time understanding what you are trying to say when you speak mandarin? Do you need to learn Mandarin pronunciation?

Pronunciation is one of the primary things every language learner should focus on. If you recently started learning mandarin and are presently struggling with pronunciation, then congratulations! 

You are found the treasure, you have looking for: A proper pronunciation guide for mandarin vocabulary.

But is mandarin pronunciation difficult to understand?

For those who do not understand yet, the mandarin writing system is logosyllabic instead and does not use alphabets or compact like English. The system of Chinese pronunciation is called Pinyin, which is written the same as in English alphabets. It is constituted of tonal signs and letters. There’re 21 consonants and 16 vowels in the mandarin language, and with various combinations, we can make more than 4 hundred mono-syllabic sounds together.

This might sound complicated and rough for a beginner in Mandarin, but don’t worry. There’re 37 sounds that are the same as English, which is a great place to start. Further, you can find a few Pinyin charts to help you better visualize what we discuss.

Read to learn Mandarin pronunciation? Let’s pave the method for your first steps in your success in the mandarin language!

Introductions to Chinese Mandarin pronunciation 

In this article we’ll only be introducing you to mandarin pronunciation; you can rest assured that our introduction will be costly enough to set you well on your way. The fundamental rule you need to learn is that every individual mandarin character makes up one syllable in a word. Just as in English, these words can consist of just 1 syllable, in which that case they’d be written using only 1 character. 

Another fact to understand is that any of these syllables is comprised of both first and final sounds. There are a finite number of sounds, and understanding to pronounce them all will mean that you’ve essentially mastered the Chinese pronunciation.

In mandarin pronunciation, there’s a system of letters that are used to understand people learn to perfectly pronounce mandarin words. Most of the sounds represented by these letters are similar in mandarin as they’re in English. Several of them are different, though. One such instance relates to the letter Z in mandarin, this is thru while your tongue is pushed up against the back of your teeth. The way, it comes out as more of a DZ sound. The letter C represents the very same sound, with the exception that air is allowed to flee from the mouth while the sound is being made.

Obviously, there’re also lots of other sounds to learn in Mandarin intonation and one of them is the ZH. This sound is produced by raising your tip against the back of your gum ridge. It sounds the same as the J sound in the English language, but it is thicker.

The CH sound is the same as its English counterpart, with the exemption that your tongue will occupy a similar position as when pronouncing ZH again resulting in a lot thicker sound. The similarity is true of the SH sound. To make the X sound in Mandarin, you just raise your tongue and allow the air to slip out.

Of course, there’re lots of other laws governing mandarin pronunciation as well. This might all look more than slightly confusing at first, but do not worry. In time, and with practice, you will get it for sure. Keep in mind, practice makes everything perfect, so listen to native Chinese speakers and repeat the sounds they’re making every chance you get.

Suggestions to Improve Mandarin Pronunciation

1, Master the basic rules of tone and pronunciation 

Understanding the basic greeting like “你好” and “你好吗” in Mandarin is not difficult, but advancing beyond that is quite a different endeavor. As a beginner, the most vital thing is to be familiar with every Pinyin sound, tone-changing rules, and spelling rules. If possible, you would better find a professional person who can speak standard Chinese to explain the major differences among those same sounds properly.

Several mandarin learning experiences sharing about how to improve mandarin pronunciation. Regarding the tones, besides the common tones practice, there’re a few beginners who share their techniques like understanding without tone marks.

2, Having sufficient input – Make a language environment like your own 

If you’re learning mandarin in China or luckily surrounded by a number of native Chinese speakers, just try to talk to them about what you have learned. If you cannot follow them at starting, do not feel upset or embarrassed. It is a quite common stage. What you need to do is at least distinguish the Chinese words you have learned and be further familiar with the intonation the mandarin language makes. Gradually, you can connect every word and figure out what they’re talking about.

If you do not have the proper language environment make yourself! There’re tons of learning resources. No matter whether mandarin learning videos or audio, you can make use of your fragment time to listen. Sometimes, the learning data is slightly boring; afterward, you can find some mandarin songs to perfect your taste. Also, learning from TV shows and movies is the best way to train your sense of the language and understand the Chinese culture as well.

3, Having sufficient output

• Practice in words, sentences, and phrases 

Do not just practice the individual characters. There’s a phonetic change in the speech flow, particularly the tones. When you first start to learn Chinese pronunciation, it’s beneficial to practice in pairs of tones. Start with a word you already understand such as 很好 (hěnhǎo, very good). This phrase uses the 2nd then the 3rd tone. Say this phrase out loud many times and listen for the rhythm and tone of the syllables.

Studying this rhythm of the mandarin language will assist you to pronounce new words you come across. Also, the increased perfection of your Chinese pronunciation will assist you to say sentences smoothly. The start is of course hard, though after going through it, the longer ones will be a lot easier for you.

• Slow down and clear 

Pay good attention that you don’t speak too fast. It is extremely natural to speak at a normal pace just like the native Chinese speaker. But you’re just a beginner who mightn’t pronounce the standard sound. Speed is the final thing you’d care about. Just slow down! Make your sounds correct and clear. If people cannot even understand you, do you seriously care about your speaking process? After all, successful communication is perfection and accuracy is the most vital thing.

• Practice makes perfect 

You need to cultivate a keen sense of the mandarin language with sufficient input. Somewhen you practice by yourself and not with others, you’re creating the illusion that you’re speaking mandarin well. The reality might be only yourself being able to understand or surely your teacher can guess what you’re trying to say rightly. So the only key is practice. If one does not work, then do it double or triple…. You’ll finally get it.

4, Always learn from your mistakes 

As you know, mandarin people are very sort, so encouragement and compliment will be the real trend of their comments on your speaking. Confidence is essential, but their kindness is not your fact to ignore the mistakes and your foreign language pronunciation. As your mandarin friends point out our inaccuracy and specific issues directly. Of course, it cannot be better if the 1 friend is a pro tutor. Then take down notes of your usual mistakes and analyze them one by one.

This procedure will assist you to conquer your issues. It might be discouraging sometimes to hear about several mistakes, but you’ll learn a lot from them rapidly and it’ll help you to enhance much faster than you might think. You can observe if others know you. Regardless of their kindness, knowing is a fine start anyhow. In addition, you can try to prepare a phrase on a specific niche, then record your speech. 

Listen to it many times to see if it is weird from your perspective. Then ask your mandarin friends or tutor to help you check it. if possible, you can compare your recording with the native Chinese speaker. It’s extremely clear to hear the differences in sounds, rhythms, and intonation. Improving and adjusting your Chinese pronunciation is what you can do naturally. Focusing on the issues and repeating them slower. Just ensure you’re pronouncing the right way.

5, Mistakes to Avoid 

There’re always mistakes that are difficult to avoid! Let’s go over a few of the most common mistakes mandarin learners make when starting with Chinese pronunciation.

• Mind the Tone

Mandarin is a tonal language. The tones are a big challenge for mandarin learners of all levels. But they cannot be avoided. Using the wrong tone and providing a word a different meaning lead to miscommunication.

• Mispronouncing the U Sound

English natives tend to read the Pinyin U like the OO in good.

This is wrong; it’d be like the OO sound in the world boot. Whenever you are pronouncing the U, imagine a teenage girl pouting and saying no in mandarin.

• In Mandarin: 不
• Pinyin: bù
• In English: no

You need to round your lips as much as possible. It is better to exaggerate than to make the incorrect sound.

• Mispronouncing the E Sound

Several people tend to mispronounce the E in mandarin, which sounds like it does in the word “People”.

6, Commonly surrogate it for the short English E as in red.

• In Mandarin: 人
• Pinyin: rén
• In English: people

The mandarin E sounds identical to the E sound at the last of the word “Problem”.

The mandarin E is a special sound because it is the most neutral of every sound. It needs a slight effort to pronounce because you do not have to move your tongue, lips, or mouth. All you need to do is relax with all in a resting position, and just allow your vocal cords to do the rest.

• Pronouncing the Q as CH Sounds

This is one of the biggest mistakes for learners of Mandarin. There are several CH-like sounds in mandarin, and all of them are distinct. The challenge for English speakers is to first perceive the difference – then remake it. The Mandarin Q sound should be pronounced with the tip below the teeth, while the blade of the tongue is flat behind the front teeth.

Instead of puckering the lips as you speak CH in English, keep the lips relaxed and flat when you peak the mandarin Q sound. Practice saying this word.

• In Mandarin: 钱
• Pinyin: qián
• In English: money

7, Adding an R sound to the last of the CHI sound 

• In Mandarin: 吃
• Pinyin: chī
• In English: to eat

Learning mandarin tends to add an R sound in the middle or at the last of this word. This normally happens when the speaker is not used to pronouncing the mandarin CH. The mandarin CH needs you to place your tongue in a position that you are unfamiliar with. If you are an English speaker, your brain naturally assumes that you are trying to pronounce an English language R due to muscle memory. 

Try to be wary of this when you are practicing mandarin CH. Though, the tip of the tongue is curled up when you perform CH, be aware that it still softly touches the front section of the top plate.

Bottom line 

Learning to pronounce Chinese needs conscious effort and diligent studying, you’re at starting of a long, fascinating, and challenging journey. It might be possible to reach your aim simply by immersing yourself in a mandarin speaking environment, but that is surely not the most efficient method, and I doubt anybody can do it.

If you want to enhance your Mandarin pronunciation, you need negative evidence. There’re several ways of learning Chinese pronunciation but finding somebody who can spot your mistakes and help you correct them is perhaps the most vital part.