Phrases Used in Our Chinese Class

The following video will cover some of the phrases that are highly frequently used in our Chinese class. Hope this will help you do more practice and get more used to listening and speaking Chinese. :)

Pinyin initials z, c, s

Tips of how to pronounce ' z ' :
First, the tip of your tongue reaches forward to touch the back of your upper teeth. Then you lose the contact and blow the air through the narrow gap between your tongue tip and the back of your upper teeth to make the sound.

As for ' c ', the tip is the same as ' z ', but you need to blow the air harder.

Tip of how to pronounce ' s ' :
First, the tip of your tongue reaches forward to be close to the back of your upper teeth. Then you blow air through the gap between them to make the sound.

China in the eyes of an American Journalist

Alan Paul wrote "The Expat Life" column for WSJ.com from 2005 through 2009, and he was named 2008 Online Columnist of the Year by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Paul is a senior writer for Slam and Guitar World magazines, and his writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, People, Sports Illustrated, and many other media outlets. He has contributed to The Rolling Stone Jazz and Blues Guide, The Insider's Guide to Beijing, and several other books.
Based on his award-winning Wall Street Journal Online column, "The Expat Life", Alan Paul put his three-and-a-half-year journey of reinvention in Beijing, a rapidly developing metropolis, into his book named 'Big in China'.  It will be really fun for anyone, who wants to take a close look about modern China, to read his book.
In his book, he reveals the challenges that he and his family, with three children-ages two, four, and seven, faced while living in a foreign country. The highlight of his book may be the part that Alan and some Chinese musicians established a blues band and became famous.  My favorite part is about Alan's family traveling in China, even the remote villages.
Alan's blog is : http://alanpaul.net

Pinyin initials j, q, x

Tip of how to make the sound of  ' j ' :

First the tip of your tongue reaches forward to touch the back of your lower teeth, with the front of the tongue rising to touch the hard palate. Then you should relax your tongue to form a narrow gap between your tongue and hard palate, and at the same time blow the air through the gap to make the sound.

As for ' q ', the method is the same as for ' j '. But you need to blow the air harder.

Tip for how to make the sound of  ' x':
First the tip of your tongue reaches to touch the gum line of the back of lower teeth, with the front of the tongue rising to be close to the roof of your mouth, and a narrow gap will form between your tongue and the roof of your mouth. Then you blow the air through the narrow gap to make the sound.

Yang Lan: The generation that's remaking China

Martin Jacques: Understanding the rise of China

Pinyin initials g, k, h

The tip of pronouncing 'g' correctly is:
First the back of your tongue reaches up to touch the soft palate. Then you lose the contact between them and the same time blow out the air lightly to make the sound.

As for 'k', the method is the same as 'g'. But the air being blown out is stronger.

The tip of pronouncing 'h' correctly is :
Pull back your tongue, letting the back of your tongue reach closely to the soft palate; then blow the air through the gap between your tongue and soft palate to make the sound.

Pinyin initials d, t, n, l

How to pronounce initial "d"?
First, the tip of your tongue touches the gum behind the upper front teeth and hold your breath. Then let the tip of your tongue leave the gum and blow the air out to make the sound.

How to pronounce initial "t"?

The method of pronouncing "t" is the same as the way of pronouncing "d". But the air blown through your mouth is stronger.

How to pronounce initial "n" ?
First, the tip of your tongue touches the back of the upper teeth. Then lose the contact quickly, and at the same time let the air blow through your nose to make the sound.

How to pronounce initial "l"?
First, the tip of your tongue touches the gum behind the upper teeth. Then lose the contact quickly and let the air blow through your mouth to make the sound.

Pinyin initials: b, p, m, f

Tips of pronouncing Pinyin correctly:
When we pronounce initial sound, we make a gentle and quick sound. It just lasts for a very short time then slide to final sound to complete the pronunciation of a character. As for the pronunciation of final sound, we make a loud and clear sound. And it lasts comparatively longer than the initial ones.

This lesson introduce four initials: b, p, m, f .
To pronounce ' b ' correctly, the tip is: First, close your mouth tightly and hold your breath. Then open your mouth quickly and blow the air out gently. It sounds like the break of a water bubble.

To pronounce ' p ' correctly, the method is close to the way of pronouncing 'b'. But you need to blow the air harder.

The tip of pronouncing ' m ' is : Noticing that this is a nasal sound, you should close your mouth, let the air come out through your nose to make the sound.

The tip of pronouncing ' f ' is: The upper teeth touches the lower lip. Let the air blow out between the teeth and lip.