欸！我們等一下要不要出去啊？（欸！我们等一下要不要出去啊？） Hey! Are we going out soon?
wom dengi? what?
欸！這怎麼開啊？是這樣開嗎？（这怎么开啊？是这样开吗？）Hey! How do I open this? Is it like this?
jiang?
Hello everyone, I’m Grace.
Welcome to my channel!
In this video, I’ll tell you about some common reductions
where certain sounds change in fast Mandarin speech.
This topic was inspired by several comments of yours,
I hope you enjoy it!
In your Chinese classes,
you’re typically taught how to properly and fully articulate each word,
but in daily casual conversation, native speakers don’t usually
pronounce every word that clearly and completely,
so some words may sound rather muddled up.
Usually, these words are high-frequency words or function words.
They are pronounced in a de-stressed way in connected speech.
Here are several features in fast Mandarin speech:
Number one, “x ㄒ” and “h ㄏ” being omitted
When these two sounds are
in the second character of a word or the middle of a phrase.
They are easily lost or pronounced very lightly in fast speech,
For example, 不好意思, in daily life, people often say “不好意思”,
and “照相機” are often pronounced like “照相機”
let’s see some more examples:
Number two, The variation of zh ㄓ and sh ㄕ
These two sounds have more than one reduced form,
for instance, in Northern China, they can be pronounced like a short “r ㄖ” sound,
for example:
Or sometimes zh ㄓ or sh ㄕ can even be completely omitted,
but in this case, they should be in the middle of a commonly used phrase,
so people can understand them in context, like “多少錢” or “不知道”
Number three, When there is “y” between a word or a phrase
When there is “y” between a word or a phrase,
people often pronounce that word or phrase together.
For example: 可以,
所以,
這一個
in daily life, people might also pronounce “這個” as “zhei ge”.
Next one,
那一個 “nai ge” or “nei ge”,
also 那個 in daily life can also be pronounced as “nai ge” or “nei ge”.
哪一個 “nai ge” or “nei ge”,
this 哪個 can also be pronounced as “nai ge” or “nei ge”.
Next one, 這樣,
那樣,
等一下
In daily life, these words or phrases are often pronounced
quickly and sound condensed together.
Here are some real-life examples:
Number four, Function words are often pronounced shortly and lightly
Function words like the three de “的、地、得” or了 etc.
They are often pronounced shortly and lightly
unless speakers want to emphasize them.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
In the last group,
I want to introduce 10 high-frequency words with reduced forms in real life:
The first one is
“我 I” sounds like “wə”
“他 he / she” sounds like “tə”
“今天 today” sounds like “jian”
“昨天 yesterday” sounds like “zuo ian”
“明天 tomorrow ” sounds like “ming ian”
“現在 now” sounds like “xian ai”
“們” sounds like a “m” sound
as in 我們
你們 you(plural)
他們 they
“覺得 to think, to feel” sounds like “jue e”
“大家 everyone” sounds like “da a”
“也 also ” sounds like “e”
OK, now let’s do a quick recap:
In daily conversation,
native Mandarin speakers don’t usually articulate every word
very clearly and completely,
certain sounds are rather unclear or even lost in fast speech,
like “x ㄒ” and “h ㄏ”.
Also, zh ㄓ and sh ㄕ may vary in different ways,
for instance, they might sound like a short “r ㄖ” sound
or even be completely omitted.
Another feature of fast Mandarin speech is that
some function words and high-frequency words are
usually pronounced rather shortly and lightly
unless the speakers want to emphasize them.
OK, that’s all for today!
If you liked today’s video, please give it a thumbs-up,
and also if you have noticed some other features
or reductions in fast Mandarin speech,
feel free to share them in the comment section.
Alright then, until next time, bye!