Practice the glide [w] with an, ang, n, eng: uan, uang, un, ueng
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| This is the uan sound, and this is the uang sound, this is the un sound, and this is the ueng sound. |
| 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 uan. This is the sound in tuán 团, nuǎn 暖, suān 酸. |
| tuán 团 "group," nuǎn 暖 "warm," suān 酸 "sour" |
| Uang is the sound in chuáng 床, shuāng 双, guāng 光. |
| chuáng 床" bed," shuāng 双 "double," guāng 光 "light" |
| Un is the sound in lún 轮, shùn 顺, gùn 棍. |
| lún 轮 "wheel," shùn 顺 "smooth," gùn 棍 "stick" |
| Ueng is the sound in wēng 翁. |
| Ueng is the sound in wēng 翁 "elderly man." |
| These four sounds are all pronounced with a glide [w]. The u sound is light and fast; make sure to pronounce them as a unit, not two separate sounds. |
| The uan sound sounds like "one," where the u sound is light and quick. Make sure the transition between u and an is smooth. |
| uan |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uan (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uan |
| uan |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uan (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uan |
| When you say uang, you're merging the u and ang sounds smoothly. Start by rounding your lips tightly, like you are about to say oo in "food." Gradually unround your lips slightly, but keep them close together. The back of the tongue should raise to touch the soft palate (the back part of the roof of your mouth) to create the nasal ng sound, similar to the ng in "song." |
| uang |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uang (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uang |
| uang |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uang (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uang |
| Un is written as u and n, but it's actually a combination of u and en. Do you remember how to pronounce en? When you say un, you combine the u and en sounds into one smooth sound. |
| un |
| [3 sec pause] |
| un (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| un |
| un |
| [3 sec pause] |
| un (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| un |
| When you say ueng, start by saying oo as in "food," transition smoothly to the eng sound by unrounding your lips slightly and raising the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate. Make sure the sound is nasal. |
| ueng |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ueng (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ueng |
| ueng |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ueng (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ueng |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| zhuān/zhuāng |
| (space for repetition) |
| zhuān/zhuāng |
| zhūn/zhuāng |
| (space for repetition) |
| zhūn/zhuāng |
| gùn/guàn |
| (space for repetition) |
| gùn/guàn |
| hún/huáng |
| (space for repetition) |
| hún/huáng |
| Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember the sound that sounds like "one?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| uan |
| (1) |
| uan |
| And if we add the letter g at the end of uan? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| uang |
| (1) |
| uang |
| Do you remember how to pronounce u and en together? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| un |
| (1) |
| un |
| And the combination of u and eng? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ueng |
| (1) |
| ueng |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. Which word has the uan sound, and which has the uang sound? |
| 专/装 |
| ("specialized"/"to install") |
| (1) |
| 专/装 |
| ("specialized"/"to install") |
| (1) |
| 专 zhuān has the uan sound, and 装 zhuāng has the uang sound. |
| Let's try another. Which word has the un sound, and which has the uan sound? |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 棍/冠 |
| ("stick"/"crown") |
| (1) |
| 棍/冠 |
| ("stick"/"crown") |
| (1) |
| 棍 gùn has the un sound, and 冠 guàn has the uan sound. |
| Let's try one more. Which word has the uang sound, and which has the un sound? |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 春/窗 |
| ("spring"/"window") |
| (1) |
| 春/窗 |
| ("spring"/"window") |
| (1) |
| 窗 chuāng has the uang sound, and 春 chūn has the un sound. |
| Now listen to the following sentences. |
| Choose the words that fit in the blanks. |
| (1 sec pause) |
| 他的头发有点_。(Tā de tóu fà yǒu diǎn _ .) |
| A 环 huán |
| B 黄 huáng |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: B 黄 huáng |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 他的头发有点黄。Tā de tóu fà yǒu diǎn huáng. |
| "His hair is a bit yellow." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 宝宝很_。 Bǎo bao hěn _. |
| A 困 kùn |
| B 矿 kuàng |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: A 困 kùn |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 宝宝很困。Bǎo bao hěn kùn. |
| "The baby is very sleepy." |
| 他在_上工作。 Tā zài _ shàng gōng zuò. |
| A 船 chuán |
| B 床 chuáng |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: A 船 chuán |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 他在船上工作。Tā zài chuán shàng gōng zuò. |
| "He works on a ship." |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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