Practice the Chinese low and mid vowels: a vs o vs e
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| This is the a sound, this is the o sound, and this is the e sound. a, o, e |
| By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, PLUS you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm YangYun, and this is Chinese Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| The first is a. This is the sound in bà 爸 "dad," dà 大 "big," tā 她 "she" and other words. |
| O is the sound in pò 破 "broken," mō 摸 "touch" and other words. |
| E is the sound in sè 色 "color," zhè 这 "this" and other words. |
| The Chinese a sound is neither the [æ] sound in the word cat nor the [ɑ] sound in the word father; it's in between. It's actually similar to the [a] sound in the word "owl." Try saying owl, and slowly move from [aʊl] to [aʊ] and finally to [a]. |
| a |
| [3 sec pause] |
| a (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| a |
| a |
| [3 sec pause] |
| a (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| a |
| The Chinese o sound is almost identical to the [ɔ] sound in English words "saw" and "all," but with the mouth not as wide open |
| o [o] |
| [3 sec pause] |
| o [o] (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| o [o] |
| o [o] |
| [3 sec pause] |
| o [o] (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| o [o] |
| The Chinese e[ə] sound is similar to the English schwa [ə], like in the word "about." |
| e[ə] |
| [3 sec pause] |
| e[ə] (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| e[ə] |
| e[ə] |
| [3 sec pause] |
| e[ə] (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| e[ə] |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| mā/mō |
| (space for repetition) |
| mā/mō |
| pà/pò |
| (space for repetition) |
| pà/pò |
| hā/hē |
| (space for repetition) |
| hā/hē |
| là/lè |
| (space for repetition) |
| là/lè |
| Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember the sound that's in between the English [æ] and [ɑ]? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| a |
| (1) |
| a |
| And the sound that sounds like the vowel in the English word "saw?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| o |
| (1) |
| o |
| Do you remember the sound similar to the English sound [ə], like in "problem?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| e |
| (1) |
| e |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. Which word has the a sound, and which has the o sound? |
| 怕/破 |
| ("afraid"/"broken") |
| (1) |
| 怕/破 |
| ("afraid"/"broken") |
| (1) |
| 怕 pà has the a sound, and 破 pò has the o sound. |
| Let's try another. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 妈/摸 |
| ("mom"/"touch") |
| (1) |
| 妈/摸 |
| ("mom"/"touch") |
| (1) |
| 妈 mā has the a sound, and 摸 mō has the o sound. |
| Let's try one more. Which word has the a sound, and which has the e sound? |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 哈/喝 |
| ("laughter"/"to drink") |
| (1) |
| 哈/喝 |
| ("laughter"/"to drink") |
| (1) |
| 哈 hā has the a sound, and 喝 hē has the e sound. |
| Now, listen to the following sentences. |
| Choose the words that fit in the blanks. |
| (1 sec pause) |
| 衣服_了。 Yīfu __ le. |
| A 怕 pà |
| B 破 pò |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: B 破 pò |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 衣服破了。Yīfu pò le. |
| "The clothes are torn." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 她在_茶。Tā zài _ chá. |
| A 喝 hē |
| B 哈 hā |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: A 喝 hē |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 她在喝茶。Tā zài hē chá. |
| "She's drinking tea." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 她_了猫。Tā _ le māo. |
| A 妈 mā |
| B 摸 mō |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: B 摸 mō |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 她摸了猫。Tā mō le māo. |
| "She pets the cat." |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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