Practice the glide [j] with u, ong, e: iu, iong, ie
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| This is the iu sound, this is the iong sound, and this is the ie 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 iu. This is the sound in diū 丢, niú 牛, liù 六. |
| Iong is the sound in qióng 穷, xióng 熊, yòng 用. |
| Ie is the sound in bié 别, jiě 姐, xiě 写. |
| When there is no consonant at the beginning of a syllable, iu, iong, and ie are written as you, yong, and ye. |
| The iu sound is similar to the vowel sound in the name "Leo," but with a shorter [i] sound. This sound can be confusing because it's actually an abbreviated form of iou. To help remember the pronunciation, think of it as i plus ou (iou). |
| iu |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iu (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iu |
| iu |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iu (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iu |
| In Lesson 5, we learned how to pronounce the ong sound. Do you remember? Start with the vowel [u], like in "boot," then prolong it and move your tongue backward while letting air come out through your nose. Now add a [j] sound in front to make the iong sound. |
| Add [j] in front |
| iong |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iong (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iong |
| iong |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iong (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iong |
| The ie sound is similar to the English word "yes." |
| ie |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ie (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ie |
| ie |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ie (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ie |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| qiū/qiē |
| (space for repetition) |
| qiū/qiē |
| qiú/qióng |
| (space for repetition) |
| qiú/qióng |
| xiē/xiōng |
| (space for repetition) |
| xiē/xiōng |
| jiù/jiè |
| (space for repetition) |
| jiù/jiè |
| Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember the sound similar to the vowel sound in "Leo," but with a shorter [i] sound? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| iu |
| (1) |
| iu |
| Do you remember the sound that combines [j] with ong? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| iong |
| (1) |
| iong |
| Do you remember the sound that sounds like the ye in "yes?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ie |
| (1) |
| ie |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. Which word has the iu sound, and which has the iong sound? |
| 球/穷 |
| ("ball"/"poor") |
| (1) |
| 球/穷 |
| ("ball"/"poor") |
| (1) |
| 球 qiú has the iu sound, and 穷 qióng has the iong sound. |
| Let's try another. Which word has the iong sound, and which has the ie sound? |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 鞋/熊 |
| ("shoe"/"bear") |
| (1) |
| 鞋/熊 |
| ("shoe"/"bear") |
| (1) |
| 鞋 xié has the ie sound, and 熊 xióng has the iong sound. |
| Let's try one more. Which word has the iu sound, and which has the ie sound? |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 秋/切 |
| ("autumn"/"to cut") |
| (1) |
| 秋/切 |
| ("autumn"/"to cut") |
| (1) |
| 秋 qiū has the iu sound, and 切 qiē has the ie sound. |
| Now, listen to the following sentences. |
| Choose the words that fit in the blanks. |
| (1 sec pause) |
| 我喜欢_天。 Wǒ xǐ huān _ tiān. |
| A 切 qiē |
| B 秋 qiū |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: B 秋 qiū |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 我喜欢秋天。 Wǒ xǐ huān qiū tiān. |
| "I like autumn." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 他家很_。 Tā jiā hěn _. |
| A 穷 qióng |
| B 球 qiú |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: 穷 qióng |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 他家很穷。 Tā jiā hěn qióng. |
| "His family is very poor." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 我的_脏了。 Wǒ de _ zāng le. |
| A 鞋 xié |
| B 熊 xióng |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: A 鞋 xié |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 我的鞋脏了。 Wǒ de xié zāng le. |
| "My shoes are dirty." |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
| Here’s a special resource just for you… |
| 30+ Chinese PDF Cheat Sheets… |
| …That will improve your Chinese twice as fast — yours FREE. |
| Just click the link in the comments section. |
Comments
Hide