Difference between revisions of "Erhua"
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{{AKA|erization|儿化 (érhuà)|儿化音 (érhuàyīn)}} | {{AKA|erization|儿化 (érhuà)|儿化音 (érhuàyīn)}} | ||
| − | "Erhua" refers to the addition of a final "-r" sound to a syllable in Mandarin. It is especially common in the Beijing [[dialect]], but is also a feature of [[standard Chinese]] as well. | + | "Erhua" refers to the addition of a final "[[-r]]" sound to a syllable in Mandarin. It is especially common in the Beijing [[dialect]], but is also a feature of [[standard Chinese]] as well. |
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| + | == A Few Rules about Erhua == | ||
| + | |||
| + | Erhua can be confusing to beginners because it's slightly more complicated than simply adding an "[[-r]]" sound to the end of a syllable. | ||
| + | |||
| + | # The character 儿 (ér) can be a syllable, as in the two-syllable word 儿子 (érzi), but erhua is not a syllable; it is pronounced as part of the syllable that it attaches to | ||
| + | # When you add erhua to the end of a syllable ending in [[-n]] or [[-ng]], you don't pronounce the [[-n]] or [[-ng]]; you pronounce the final [[-r]] sound instead | ||
| + | # The vowel sound of a syllable may change slightly with the addition of the erhua (e.g. "[[shi]] + [[-r]]" may sound kind of like "''shar''") | ||
| + | # Erhua can be written as 儿, but it doesn't need to be written to be pronounced (e.g. a southerner will generally pronounce 花 as "huā", but a Beijinger will pronounce it as "huār") | ||
== Common Examples of Erhua == | == Common Examples of Erhua == | ||
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== Writing Erhua == | == Writing Erhua == | ||
| − | + | For a few select words, it is customary to write out the erhua using the character 儿: | |
| + | |||
| + | 哪儿 | ||
== Optional Erhua == | == Optional Erhua == | ||
| + | |||
| + | For many other words, writing the 儿 is optional. Northerners will likely pronounce the following words, no matter whether it is written with or without the 儿. | ||
花 | 花 | ||
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== Sources and further reading == | == Sources and further reading == | ||
| + | * MIT.edu: [http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.102/s06/audio/Unit%205.15%20Pronun%20erhua.mp3 Erhua Recordings] (MP3) | ||
* Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhua Erhua] | * Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhua Erhua] | ||
* Wikipedia: [http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%92%E5%8C%96%E9%9F%B3 儿化音] | * Wikipedia: [http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%92%E5%8C%96%E9%9F%B3 儿化音] | ||
Revision as of 14:36, 21 February 2015
- Also known as: erization, 儿化 (érhuà) and 儿化音 (érhuàyīn).
"Erhua" refers to the addition of a final "-r" sound to a syllable in Mandarin. It is especially common in the Beijing dialect, but is also a feature of standard Chinese as well.
Contents
A Few Rules about Erhua
Erhua can be confusing to beginners because it's slightly more complicated than simply adding an "-r" sound to the end of a syllable.
- The character 儿 (ér) can be a syllable, as in the two-syllable word 儿子 (érzi), but erhua is not a syllable; it is pronounced as part of the syllable that it attaches to
- When you add erhua to the end of a syllable ending in -n or -ng, you don't pronounce the -n or -ng; you pronounce the final -r sound instead
- The vowel sound of a syllable may change slightly with the addition of the erhua (e.g. "shi + -r" may sound kind of like "shar")
- Erhua can be written as 儿, but it doesn't need to be written to be pronounced (e.g. a southerner will generally pronounce 花 as "huā", but a Beijinger will pronounce it as "huār")
Common Examples of Erhua
花儿
Writing Erhua
For a few select words, it is customary to write out the erhua using the character 儿:
哪儿
Optional Erhua
For many other words, writing the 儿 is optional. Northerners will likely pronounce the following words, no matter whether it is written with or without the 儿.
花
Sources and further reading
- MIT.edu: Erhua Recordings (MP3)
- Wikipedia: Erhua
- Wikipedia: 儿化音
