tombio5 Posted July 26, 2006 at 11:54 AM Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 at 11:54 AM hello ^_^ I have always been interested in chinese culture and have a interenet friend from there. We have been friends for almost a year now and i have become rather fond of her. Anyway it was not until recently that i realised i have no idea how her name is pronunced. I only know she has told mean its Yixi in terms of english writting. I have been pndering on it for a while but mainly the "x" is throwing me off. i believe it might be pronounced Yishi or possibly Yizi anyway i was hoping someone might know the pronunciation and spare me the embarrisment of having to ask her. If anyone can help me i would really apreciate it a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted July 26, 2006 at 12:15 PM Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 at 12:15 PM I think you should know (If you don't already) that basically there are 4 tones in Mandarin. On the internet, they are usually denoted by 1, 2, 3, 4 after the pinyin. Listen -> Xi1 / Xi2 / Xi3 / Xi4 Compare them with -> Shi1 / Shi2 / Shi3 / Shi4 And with -> Si1 / Si3 / Si4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strawberries513 Posted July 26, 2006 at 12:48 PM Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 at 12:48 PM i think what he means is that he doesnt know how to pronounce the X. yixi= eee-sheee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombio5 Posted July 28, 2006 at 04:33 AM Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 at 04:33 AM thats what i was after, the pronounciation ee-shi thanx a bunch for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beechin Posted July 31, 2006 at 09:03 AM Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 at 09:03 AM for the accurate should be Yixi = ee - c where xi = c in pronounciation hope this help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombio5 Posted August 1, 2006 at 10:03 AM Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 at 10:03 AM really .... now i got 2 pronounciations, ee-shee and ee-c hmm, that confuses things a little which one does everyone else agree with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted August 1, 2006 at 11:18 AM Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 at 11:18 AM hmm, that confuses things a littlewhich one does everyone else agree with? Since [xi] 's pronunciation is half way between /shee/ and /sea/, so pick whichever is easier for you. Remember also no one would expect a perfect pronunciation out of a non-speaker of Chinese, so just relax and say it in the sweetest voice you can, and that will do it nicely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wai ming Posted August 1, 2006 at 01:50 PM Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 at 01:50 PM To me, /sea/ sounds more southern Chinese (like the Chinese spoken in Guangdong/Taiwan/Singapore/Malaysia etc), while /shee/ sounds more northern (like the Chinese spoken in Beijing). Either way, I don't think it matters too much if you follow HashiriKata's advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombio5 Posted August 17, 2006 at 02:17 PM Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 at 02:17 PM I think i will go with ee-shee, i think it sounds nicer not that other way sounds bad or anything, lol thanx a lot for your help and advice guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Zhiren Posted August 17, 2006 at 06:26 PM Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 at 06:26 PM Type in yi xi in this online Chinese dictionary and it will also give you audio clips for pronunciation. You can also find out what happens with the different tones. You'll want to ask your friend what those tones are. http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombio5 Posted October 7, 2006 at 06:46 AM Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 at 06:46 AM I finally met her again on msn messenger the other day. not much luck tho i tried to explain how i think it sounded using diffrent letters and things but she didnt really understand the pronounciation i was trying to portray .... haha i tried to write and portray it as "ee-shee" and say that i think its like the sound of the letter "e" and the word "she" together. But she couldent really understand what i meant and how that would sound. What a shame !!! lol Can't really thing of any others way to try describe the pronounciation is text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombio5 Posted October 18, 2006 at 01:14 PM Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 at 01:14 PM oh i got a new breakthrough ..... maybe hahah i have the chinese symbols for her name 叶怡汐 does this help in figuring out the english pronounciation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liuzhou Posted October 18, 2006 at 01:38 PM Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 at 01:38 PM 叶怡汐 = yè yí xì yè - try saying ''yeah" like you are impatient or in a bad mood! yí - try saying "ee'' like you are asking a question xì - try saying "shee" impatiently now, try saying them all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted October 18, 2006 at 01:42 PM Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 at 01:42 PM It's yi xi (ee-shee), just as we've understood all along. My final ( ) advice is: drop whatever you're doing and start learning Chinese. I'm pretty sure that with application, in two months you can say her name the way it should be said and believe me, she'll be extremely impressed and happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
againstwind Posted October 18, 2006 at 02:28 PM Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 at 02:28 PM liuzhou and HashiriKata have given you very good advice. Here is another tip: 汐 should be xi1, not xi4. and try pronouncing 'shee'. That's ok. But make sure your lip is flat, not round like 'she'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djwebb2004 Posted October 24, 2006 at 08:22 AM Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 at 08:22 AM 汐 should be xi1, not xi4. and try pronouncing 'shee'. That's ok. But make sure your lip is flat, not round like 'she'. I don't think the English native speaker's lips are actually round when pronouncing "she"; in fact I can pronounce it correctly with completely spread lips. The English "she" is half way between the Chinese "x" and "sh", and so probably the lips are round for the Chinese "sh"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
againstwind Posted October 24, 2006 at 02:48 PM Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 at 02:48 PM I don't think the English native speaker's lips are actually round when pronouncing "she"; in fact I can pronounce it correctly with completely spread lips. The English "she" is half way between the Chinese "x" and "sh", and so probably the lips are round for the Chinese "sh"... You are possibly right. Let me correct my expression: 汐 should be xi1, not xi4. and try pronouncing 'shee'. That's ok. But make sure your lip is NOT protrudent and your tine of tongue touches the lower gingiva. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.