Video: How to Pronounce ü in Chinese Pinyin And Never Say Choo Choo Again

Nick Richards | Oct 17, 2013 7:30 pm | 4 comments | 4497 reads

If there is one sound in Chinese Pinyin that native English speakers struggle with most, it’s got to be the ü sound. This vowel sound can be found in Western languages such as German and French, but it doesn’t exist in English and many hear it and pronounce it as "ew" or "ooo". Common Chinese phrases like 出去 chūqù, or "to go out", end up being pronounced like "choo choo" or "choo chew."

There is a simple trick for pronouncing the ü sound. Say ū, or "ooo" and pay attention to the shape of your mouth. You lips should be slightly open in an O shape. As you sound the "ooo", purse your lips and tighten the O shape, you tongue should naturally come forward slide up and presto, "ooo" becomes ü.

Another way to do it is to say the long e sound, immediately followed by "you." "Eee," "you," "eee," "you." Faster! Now, combine these sounds together.

Try it, practice it, and never say "I am choo choo-ing" to describe going out to buy something again.

Our editor Crystal demonstrates in the video below:

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admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Fri, 10/18/2013 - 15:04

JW80 wrote:

Ridiculous. I have never heard anyone say "choo choo" of all the things to worry about pronouncing. 出去 is not one of them.

 

 

my guess is you are not a native english speaker (or your chinese is so bad you can't tell the difference between "出" and "去")

Having been in classrooms full of Chinese language learners (as one myself) and listening to the mispronunciations of westerners for 12 years, the distinction between "出" and "去" is profoundly difficult for most.

 

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TommyUK123's picture TommyUK123 Submitted by Guest on Fri, 10/18/2013 - 08:20

I've never really had trouble with this pronunciation --- I think that the Chinese "r" pinyin words are often harder for native english speakers, particularly pinyin like "rui" and "ruan" - this 'r' is so different from english, and combining with a 'u' in a monosyllabic structure is totally alien and disturbing to new learners of Chinese

I also think that the difference in pronunciation between "che" and "chi" gives native english speakers more problems than the "ooo" thing.

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