What are the vocal differences between shēng and shāng?

[doudagkan]

How can I distinguish the pronunciation of shāng from the pronunciation of shēng?

[889]

Bear in mind it's only an approximation:

 

Shang: English Shaun, adding a g.

Sheng: English shun, adding a g.

 

[vellocet]

I find it helps to ditch pinyin.  You're trying to hear the sounds and mentally match it up to e or a.  Stop doing that.  Instead, just hear the words.  Pinyin is useful but can become harmful after a while.  

[Demonic_Duck]

On 7/17/2022 at 9:55 PM, 889 said:

Shang: English Shaun, adding a g.

Sheng: English shun, adding a g.

 

Depends a lot on dialect. Pinyin "shang" isn't even close to how I pronounce English "Shaun". If anything, it's closer to how I pronounce English "shun".

 

sheng: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_central_vowel

shang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_central_unrounded_vowel

[889]

But we'll just go around in circles if we try to account for all the different dialects in English.