Difference between revisions of "Erhua"

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== Common Examples of Erhua ==
 
== Common Examples of Erhua ==
 
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<div class="liju">
* 花儿
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* 花<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">huā<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">flower</span>
* 小鸟儿
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* 小鸟<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">xiǎoniǎo<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">little bird</span>
* 这儿
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* 这<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">zhè<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">here</span>
* 那儿
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* 那<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">nà<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">there</span>
* 哪儿
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* 哪<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">nǎ<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">where</span>
* 玩儿
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* 玩<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">wán<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">to play; for fun</span>
* 盖儿
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* 盖<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">gài<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">a cover of a container</span>
* 小孩儿
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* 小孩<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">xiǎohái<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">child</span>
* 好玩儿
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* 好玩<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">hǎowán<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">interesting;fun</span>
* 羊肉串儿
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* 羊肉串<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">yángròuchuàn<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">mutton skewers</span>
* 生鱼片儿
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* 生鱼片<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">shēngyú piān<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">sashimi</span>
* 没事儿
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* 没事<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">méishì<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">That's ok.</span>
* 土豆儿
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* 土豆<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">tǔdòu<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">potato</span>
* 馅儿
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* 馅<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">xiàn<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">stuffing</span>
* 小偷儿
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* 小偷<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">xiǎotōu<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">thief</span>
* 一半儿
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* 一半<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">yībàn<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">half</span>
* 有点儿
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* 有点<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">yǒudiǎn<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">a little bit [as a adv]</span>
* 一点儿
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* 一点<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">yīdiǎn<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">a little[as quantifier]</span>
* 一会儿
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* 一会<em>儿</em><span class="pinyin">yīhuì<em>r</em></span> <span class="trans">a while; after a while</span>
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</div>
  
 
== Writing Erhua ==
 
== Writing Erhua ==

Revision as of 02:50, 27 March 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.

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.

  1. 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 comes after
  2. When you add erhua to the end of a syllable ending in -n or -ng, you don't pronounce the -n or -ng (even though you still write it); you pronounce the final -r sound instead
  3. 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")
  4. 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

  • huār flower
  • 小鸟xiǎoniǎor little bird
  • zhèr here
  • r there
  • r where
  • wánr to play; for fun
  • gàir a cover of a container
  • 小孩xiǎoháir child
  • 好玩hǎowánr interesting;fun
  • 羊肉串yángròuchuànr mutton skewers
  • 生鱼片shēngyú piānr sashimi
  • 没事méishìr That's ok.
  • 土豆tǔdòur potato
  • xiànr stuffing
  • 小偷xiǎotōur thief
  • 一半yībànr half
  • 有点yǒudiǎnr a little bit [as a adv]
  • 一点yīdiǎnr a little[as quantifier]
  • 一会yīhuìr a while; after a while

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.

Common Examples of Erhua

  • 花(儿)
  • 小鸟(儿)
  • 小孩(儿)
  • 好玩(儿)
  • 羊肉串(儿)
  • 生鱼片(儿)
  • 没事(儿)
  • 土豆(儿)
  • 小偷(儿)
  • 一半(儿)
  • 有点(儿)
  • 一点(儿)

Sources and further reading