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Difference in pronunciation between x, sh in pinyin? Can anyone explain the difference between the two please? I read somewhere that 'x' in pinyin is pronounced as 'sh' in 'sheep', and that you have to curl your tongue back and try to say 'sh' (as in 'sheep') to pronounce 'sh' in pinyin. I read many other pronunciations conflicting with these, so I'm not sure what to believe now.

Answers · 15

2
you know you are right, x is different from the pronounciation of the sh in the sheep, ship or shelter. do you know the city of Xi'an(西安), the regional capital of Shaanxi province. the first pronounciation of Xi'an is the same with that of x. in English, no pronounciation is same to x, maybe c is closer to that of x, but different too. or if you have a QQ, i can pronounce it for you
1
sh is exactly the same with "sh" in sheep. about x. 1) relax ur tongue 2) press the tip of ur tongue to make sure that the tip of ur tongue reach the base of ur lower teech 3) shock ur vocal cords and let the air from inside through the very narrow space between ur tongue and the upper jaw
1
Hi,put your tongue under bottom of the low teeth then pronounce" X" In english when you pronounce Sh,you have to curl your tongue !In Chinese you don`t have to ! This is the difference !
1
'sh' is a 'retroflex' sound, have to curl the tongue up so the tip touches the palate - quite different sound
0
" I read somewhere that 'x' in pinyin is pronounced as 'sh' in 'sheep'" totally wrong because there's no analogy for "x" in English language as "x" is pronounced as soft "s" and in fact there's no analogy for "sh" in English as well because in English it's "soft" sound but in Chinese it's "hard" sound so must listen to the native speakers to imitate and memorize it

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