Practice the velar consonants: g vs k vs h
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| This is the g sound, this is the k sound, and this is the h 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 g. This is the sound in gē 哥, gàn 干, guó 国. |
| gē 哥 "brother," gàn 干 "to do," guó 国 "country." |
| K is the sound in kè 课, kàn 看, kāi 开. |
| kè 课 "lesson," kàn 看 "to look," kāi 开 "to open." |
| H is the sound in hē 喝, hàn 汗, huā 花. |
| hē 喝 "to drink," hàn 汗 "sweat," huā 花 "flower." |
| These three sounds are familiar to native English speakers, but there are a few points that we need to pay attention to. |
| G [k] is an unaspirated stop consonant. |
| Unlike the English g sound, like the g in "go," Chinese g [k] is voiceless; your vocal cord should not vibrate when pronouncing this sound. It's the same sound as k in "sky." |
| g |
| [3 sec pause] |
| g (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| g |
| g |
| [3 sec pause] |
| g (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| g |
| K [kʰ] is an aspirated stop consonant. |
| It's similar to k in "kiss" but with a stronger puff of air. |
| k |
| [3 sec pause] |
| k (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| k |
| k |
| [3 sec pause] |
| k (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| k |
| The difference between g and k is in the aspiration: the g sound has little to no burst of air, while the k sound has a strong puff of air when pronounced. |
| H [x] is a voiceless velar fricative. |
| English speakers tend to pronounce the Chinese h [x] as the glottal [h] in English. Since this is a velar fricative, you can try the velar stop [k] first and move the back of the tongue slightly down to make a fricative. Keep repeating [k], and along the way, try to lower the back of the tongue a little bit from the velum to get the velar fricative. |
| h |
| [3 sec pause] |
| h (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| h |
| h |
| [3 sec pause] |
| h (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| h |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| gē/kē |
| (space for repetition) |
| gē/kē |
| gē/hē |
| (space for repetition) |
| gē/hē |
| gàn/hàn |
| (space for repetition) |
| gàn/hàn |
| kàn/hàn |
| (space for repetition) |
| kàn/hàn |
| Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember the stop consonant with little or no burst of air? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| g |
| (1) |
| g |
| Do you remember the stop consonant with a strong puff of air when pronounced? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| k |
| (1) |
| k |
| Do you remember the fricative that is similar to [h] in "hi?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| h |
| (1) |
| h |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. Which word has the g sound, and which has the k sound? |
| 干/看 |
| ("to do"/"to look") |
| (1) |
| 干/看 |
| ("to do"/"to look") |
| (1) |
| 干 gàn has the g sound, and 看 kàn has the k sound. |
| Let's try another. Which word has the k sound, and which has the h sound? |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 看/汗 |
| ("to look"/"sweat") |
| (1) |
| 看/汗 |
| ("to look"/"sweat") |
| (1) |
| 看 kàn has the k sound, and 汗 hàn has the h sound. |
| Which word has the g sound, and which has the h sound? |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 古/虎 |
| ("old"/"tiger") |
| (1) |
| 古/虎 |
| ("old"/"tiger") |
| (1) |
| 古 gǔ has the g sound, and 虎 hǔ has the h sound. |
| Now, listen to the following sentences. |
| Choose the words that fit in the blanks. |
| (1 sec pause) |
| 十_苹果。Shí_ píng guǒ. |
| A 克 kè |
| B 个 gè |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: B 个 gè |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 十个苹果。Shí gè píng guǒ. |
| "Ten apples." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 请多_水。 Qǐng duō _ shuǐ. |
| A 喝 hē |
| B 颗 kē |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: A 喝 hē |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 请多喝水。 Qǐng duō hē shuǐ. |
| "Please drink more water." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 这药太_了。 Zhè yào tài _ le. |
| A 苦 kǔ |
| B 古 gǔ |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: A 苦 kǔ |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 这药太苦了。 Zhè yào tài kǔ le. |
| "This medicine is too bitter." |
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