What English word is hard for Chinese speakers to pronounce
What is the hardest English word for the Chinese to pronounce? I know that "parallel" is difficult. Also words with many syllables are hard - "colloquiallism", for example.
Let me know which one is most difficult for you.Both the Chinese and Japanese seem to have difficulties, but in different ways. Several Chinese have indicated to me that "plural" gives them problems.
A Chinese R is hard for a Westerner. It's a little like putting the tongue on the roof of the mouth and then buzzing it. One tutor gave me a hard time because I couldn't get it at first. I got even by asking her to pronounce the German "da drueben" (over there) exactly like the Germans do. She was stopped - completely. The Chinese have more problems with the German R than the English. I eventually learned the Chinese R with no more flack from the tutor.The Chinese word for day (日- re) is difficult for Westerners, Zooey, as is the difference between 在 (zai) and 才 (cai). At least for me it was (and sometimes still is)

Question

What English word is hard for Chinese speakers to pronounce
What is the hardest English word for the Chinese to pronounce? I know that "parallel" is difficult.  Also words with many syllables are hard - "colloquiallism", for example.
Let me know which one is most difficult for you.Both the Chinese and Japanese seem to have difficulties, but in different ways.  Several Chinese have indicated to me that "plural" gives them problems.
A Chinese R is hard for a Westerner.  It's a little like putting the tongue on the roof of the mouth and then buzzing it.  One tutor gave me a hard time because I couldn't get it at first.  I got even by asking her to pronounce the German "da drueben" (over there) exactly like the Germans do.  She was stopped - completely.  The Chinese have more problems with the German R than the English.  I eventually learned the Chinese R with no more flack from the tutor.The Chinese word for day (日- re) is difficult for Westerners, Zooey, as is the difference between 在 (zai) and 才 (cai).  At least for me it was (and sometimes still is)

Answer

confucius's  , words with "th"

Answer

You might want to change your "re" for 日 to "ri". ;) Anyway, apart from that I'm not really sure whether the English "r" is thàt problematic but the Dutch "r" certainly is. I'm teaching Dutch to foreign students at my university now and some of them are Chinese. And indeed, the "R" and "L" cause a lot of trouble for them, so much that sometimes it's hard to distinguish "R" from "L". The Dutch "R" is sorta like the German "R"; a rolling R. I guess that rolling thing is what's most problematic, because in Chinese you don't have any sound that includes tongue activity. The best I got so far was something that sounded like "drl" for "R". I guess I'll just practice with them on this "evil R"... (The Dutch and German R aren't just difficult for Chinese though...English natives also rarely pronounce it correctly so if you managed that's already an amazing thing. ;) )

As for problems with Chinese...I usually don't have any trouble but perhaps I'm a bit weird in that sense because I liked to mimick sounds when I was younger so I sorta have a feeling for different sounds. (Of course it helps that all Dutch kids have to learn 4 languages; Dutch, German, French and English.) However, most difficulties are specific to people from certain regions. For example, in my Chinese class there is one guy from Greece who has trouble with things that seem simple for some (-ang/-eng etc. endings) but because of the Greek language it suddenly becomes a bit of a problem and he usually pronounces it like "-ank/-enk". The Cantonese guys in my class on the other hand have trouble with "sh" for example since in Cantonese this is more like "s". So it's different depending on your native language I guess.

Answer

You have to realize that they have done studies. and as your brain develops it actually learns letters and hears the letters you were trained to say.

once you grow up this translates to the fact that you actually DO NOT hear the letters that others pronounce.

that is why the Japanese cant say L's because they mentally don't hear it the way we do. there are sounds they make that we cant hear either.

but if you learn basic words in a couple widely different languages you may actually not develop this problem :D

other wise colloquial is a pretty messed up word HEH

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I know of the famous diffulcty with R's and L's, or is that just a japanese thing? 

I want to know the opposite also: what Chinese word is hard for English speakers to pronounce?

Answer

no one, i can do all well

Answers · 5

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