Chinese language background
27 common pronunciation problems
The following problems are followed by links to materials for practising the relevant sounds where practice materials are available.
1. /ɪ/ and /iː/
Fix the problem
Relax the mouth and keep sound short.
English sound
/ɪ/ — "sit"
Common error
/iː/ — "seat"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /ɪ/ or /iː/ practice
2. /æ/ and /e/
Fix the problem
Move tongue to a lower front position.
English sound
/æ/ — "man"
Common error
/e/ — "men"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /e/ or /æ/ practice
3. /æ/ and /ʌ/
Fix the problem
Keep tongue front & low and jaws apart.
English sound
/æ/ — "ran"
Common error
/ʌ/ — "run"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice
4. /æ/ and /ɑː/
Fix the problem
Keep tongue front & low and jaws apart.
English sound
/æ/ — "cat"
Common error
/ɑː/ — "cart"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ɑː/ practice
5. /ʌ/
Fix the problem
Tongue low central. Lips relaxed.
English sound
/ʌ/ — "cup"
6. /ʌ/ and /æ/
Fix the problem
Tongue more central. Lips relaxed.
English sound
/ʌ/ — "cup"
Common error
/æ/ — "cap"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice
7. /ɒ/ and /ɔː/
Fix the problem
Keep mouth round and sound short.
English sound
/ɒ/ — "not"
Common error
/ɔː/ — "nought"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /ɒ/ or /ɔː/ practice
8. /ɒ/ and /ʊ/
Fix the problem
Keep mouth round and tongue back.
English sound
/ɒ/ — "God"
Common error
/ʊ/ — "good"
9. /uː/ and /ʊ/
Fix the problem
Back of tongue high. Lips tightly rounded. Long.
English sound
/uː/ — "fool"
Common error
/ʊ/ — "full"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /ʊ/ or /uː/ practice
10. /b/ and /p/
Fix the problem
Voiced. Vibration. Trap air with lips.
English sound
/b/ — "bill"
Common error
/p/ — "pill"
11. /v/ and /f/
Fix the problem
Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip.
English sound
/v/ — "van"
Common error
/f/ — "fan"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /f/ or /v/ practice
12. /v/ and /w/
Fix the problem
Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip.
English sound
/v/ — "vet"
Common error
/w/ — "wet"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /w/ or /v/ practice
13. /θ/ and /t/
Fix the problem
Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
English sound
/θ/ — "thin"
Common error
/t/ — "tin"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /t/ practice
14. /θ/ and /s/
Fix the problem
Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
English sound
/θ/ — "thin"
Common error
/s/ — "sin"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /s/ practice
15. /ð/ and /z/
Fix the problem
Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
English sound
/ð/ — "clothe"
Common error
/z/ — "close" /z/
16. /ð/ and /d/
Fix the problem
Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
English sound
/ð/ — "they"
Common error
/d/ — "day"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /ð/ or /d/ practice
17. /h/
Fix the problem
Quickly push air from throat out of mouth.
English sound
/h/ — "hot"
Common error
"ch" in "loch"
18. /d/ and /t/
Fix the problem
Tip of tongue behind top teeth.
English sound
/d/ — "made"
Common error
/t/ — "mate"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /t/ or /d/ practice
19. /z/ and /s/
Fix the problem
Voiced: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction.
English sound
/z/ — "rise"
Common error
/s/ — "rice"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /s/ or /z/ practice
20. /ŋk/ and /ŋ/
Fix the problem
Back of tongue to back roof. Nasal.
English sound
/ŋk/ — "think"
Common error
/ŋ/ — "thing"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /ŋ/ or /ŋk/ practice
21. /n/ and /ŋ/
Fix the problem
Tongue touches alveolar ridge. Nasal.
English sound
/n/ — "spoon"
Common error
/ŋ/ — "spool"
22. /l/ and /r/
Fix the problem
Tongue touches hard palate.
English sound
/l/ — "light" (clear)
Common error
/r/ — "right"
23. /r/ and /l/
Fix the problem
Sides of tongue to back teeth. Tip points up.
English sound
/r/ — "right"
Common error
/l/ — "light"
24. Dark /l/
Fix the problem
Contact. Brief "schwa" after release.
English sound
/ɫ/ — "tall" (dark l)
25. /ʃ/
Fix the problem
Voiceless. Friction. Front of tongue to palate.
English sound
/ʃ/ — "push"
26. /tʃ/
Fix the problem
Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate.
English sound
/tʃ/ — "cherry"
27. /dʒ/
Fix the problem
Voiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate.
English sound
/dʒ/ — "wage"
External links