Master Chinese “j q x” and “zh ch sh” | Pronunciation Training

The handout for today's lesson: gracemandarinc...
Master Chinese "j q x" and "zh ch sh" | Pronunciation Training
In the Chinese language, "j q x" and "zh ch sh" these sounds are quite difficult to learn because these sounds don't exist in many languages. That's why many students struggle with these sounds.
But in this video, I break down these Chinese consonants, using IPA of them to explain what are the differences between them.
Also, I showed you their tongue positions with images. It can help you more easily get where to put your tongue so that you can practice correctly pronouncing these sounds.
Last time I talked about how to make "zh ch sh r" these Chinese initials, so this episode I mainly teach you how to pronounce "j q x". Besides this, I also do the comparison between "zh ch sh" and "j q x" which can help you differentiate these Chinese consonants.
the handout for this lesson: is.gd/EN8LSz
The timecode of three Chinese initials and the comparison:
00:35 (1) the IPA and the Tongue position of "x"
01:50 (2) the IPA and the Tongue position of "j"
03:00 (3) the IPA and the Tongue position of "q"
03:48 (4) the comparison between "j q x" and "zh ch sh"
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[@setssky375]

I am starting to learn Chinese (Traditional) And I gotta say, I hate how underrated this video is, Not only you showed both Pinyin and Zhuyin (Which I need to learn Zhuyin lol), This is the only vid I found to show how to exactly pronounce these sounds. Thanks.

[@douglasmarinho3653]

Are learning traditional Chinese??!! How can you do it? It's so many strokes to remember! I just can't even recognize them!

[@semmyuel]

​@@douglasmarinho3653 I think it looks more complicated than it is. Its more strokes which makes it slower to write but they arent really that much harder to remember, especially because often its just radicals that get simplified and you just have to remember them once to use them for multiple characters

[@ellen_good3924]

​@semmyuel but why are u learning it?

[@semmyuel]

@@ellen_good3924 im studying sinology at uni and we have to learn both

[@Adzzzzzzzzzzz]

AS native Spanish speaker, this video help a LOT with the position on how to do it. All the Chinese learners must to see, even if your native language is other than English.

[@qaaqqutsiaqtaatsiaq8796]

I am a native Greenlandic speaker, all the content I consume is in English haha :)

[@ahhhhhh387]

Same

[@ahhhhhh387]

@l e x :o my mom is from Peru 😊

[@Adzzzzzzzzzzz]

@l e x Practica y mas practica, lee los dialogos y trata de hacerlo lo mas fluido posible. Lastimosamente en el chino lo mas dificil y primordial es la pronunciacion. Luego de que practiques mucho, te saldra automatico. Pero no puedo decirte que es algo tan facil como hablar el español donde la CH la pronuncian como sea y todos sabemos que hablan del "Chocolate" por ejemplo

[@Adzzzzzzzzzzz]

@@ahhhhhh387 Practica, no hay de otra. Leer los dialogos y practicar hasta que puedas hacer las posiciones de manera fluida. Imagina que estas practicando un jutsu de naruto pero en vez de las manos, es con la lengua, dientes, etc. JAJA

[@nickfleming3719]

Some advice from a native english speaker for the x sound. Make a hissing 's' sound, then slightly move the tip of your tongue down until it just barely makes a 'sh' sound

[@pinkforguys]

thanks! this helped me understand it better

[@audreyodonnell166]

Oh thanks I thought my tongue was too big

[@funenglish248]

But, the Chinese "X" sound is the same as the "Sh" English sound.. right?

[@elijahsmall5873]

@@funenglish248 no

[@nickfleming3719]

@@funenglish248 The chinese "sh" sound is closer to the english "sh" sound's tongue position. The chinese "x" has a tongue position that doesn't exist in english, at least in the english I speak.

[@DavidGomez-hi4tm]

I’ve been struggling for a long time trynna master the pronunciation of these initials, and let me tell you Grace that I’m deeply grateful with you, cause this video has been so helpful. I was able to hear the difference between these initials despite my mother tongue is Spanish. Thanks a lot ❤️

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

David Gomez I’m glad it helps!! You’re welcome! :D

[@beirne]

I wish I had seen this years ago. My x's and q's have always been weak, and now I know why. The mouth diagrams along with the explanation made all the difference.

[@無影片新增500個訂閱者]

lean to Pronunc 00:35 (1) the IPA and the Tongue position of "x" 01:50 (2) the IPA and the Tongue position of "j" 03:00 (3) the IPA and the Tongue position of "q" 03:48 (4) the comparison between "j q x" and "zh ch sh"

[@ChandanKumar-vp1rc]

😘😘😘

[@Driftking859]

I've asked many chinese friends and teachers while also watching many videos trying to improve my pronunciation and after 2 years studying, I have watched Grace's videos and finally I have found a helpful video helping me master X, Q, J, and ZH 感谢你Grace老师

[@learnChinese.]

谢谢❤❤❤

[@ICosmoI]

So helpful!! Thank you for using IPA and those mouth diagrams.　謝謝！

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

ICosmoI 不客氣！Glad you like it! :D

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

The handout for today's lesson: gracemandarinchinese.com/j-q-x-handout/ Hope you enjoy today’s video! If you have any suggestion or any idea that you want me to talk about, please leave a comment below :)

[@DuongSean]

Very understandable. Thank you so much and please, keep it up your great work.

[@sunainakumari5316]

@Enrique Barreto you he wtshgbf

[@thinhthe6196]

你真像日本长成人演员

[@Ajia_No_Envy]

Thank you so much for making these videos. You are so underated it's unbelievable.

[@cadaverdog1424]

This is definitely the best video/explanation/demonstration ever available! I won’t even watch any others after this!👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏

[@JonasTjader]

Great video :) thanks for helping with pronounciation!

[@vividbiomass620]

This is really helpful for my pronunciation. It’s also made me realise how bad my ear is. I find it really hard to hear this difference between some of those sounds. If you ever need ideas for content, it would be helpful if you could do a video where you say different words with the sounds from this and the last video, then show the viewer what the sound was. It’d be a bit like aural flash cards. Thanks for your work!

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

VividBiomass This is such a good idea!! Thanks a lot! Yes these sounds are pretty similar but you don’t have to worry too much, when you learn two vocabulary which have similar pronunciations that you find a bit difficult to tell, you can focus on learning where to use them (e.g. the combination with other words), try to use contexts easily distinguish them:) just a piece of advice, hope this will help you learn better!

[@billyjuarez1579]

These are the best videos i've seen so far about mandarin pronunciation sounds. Very helfpful, thank you very much!

[@phamthanh4080]

I think that, in terms of pronunciation, compared to other channels, Grace teaches the most accurately. Thank you very much, Grace. And the teacher is so beautiful and charming. Best wishes for You.

[@sierrrrrrrra]

After months of trying to learn these initials, your videos are the key for me understanding these sounds in my brain. Thank you so much!!!!!!! :)

[@sovideo_]

Really? :D :D To clarify the stupid video lesson: You start practicing from the basic easier X. It is sort of funny sounding S. You try to utter S, while your tongue is pressed against your lower teeth. The result seems to sound close to the English S or TH, but it's not identical and the Chinese speakers will sense the difference. IPA: [ɕ] After mastering the X, move to J. It is like the Chinese X sound but now try to add T in front of it. It sounds close to an English TS (caTS), but again it's not identical. It is very difficult for the English speakers because they can hardly say TS at the beginning of a syllable. IPA: [t͡ɕ] Finally, move to Q. It is like the Chinese J sound, but now you add an H after the J sound, without generating a new syllable. Linguistically this is called "aspiration". In several Asian languages there are aspirated consonants, meaning they are merged with the H sound. The Chinese Q sounds close to TS'H, but with a nuance. IPA: [t͡ɕʰ]

[@elmirasmiscellaneous1129]

The first time after months I got the pronunciation of x, j, q right! That was extremely helpful! Thank you Grace.

[@kurozack]

Have started learning Mandarin recently and this video helped me a lot with understanding the pronunciation of these consonants. Thank you very much!

[@JuanSaab]

Thank you so much for this video. This is exactly what I was looking for. Finding tongue positions is fundamental to pronounce better. I feel a bit closer to pronounce better :) 谢谢你!

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

Juan Saab 不客氣！很高興有幫到你;) (不客气！很高兴有帮到你) 😊😊

[@ConnorWidmaier]

Your videos are excellent!! Reducing my accent is one of the most satisfying processes in language learning and I’m really thankful to find your videos.

[@girltanghinh1167]

i was so confused about how to pronounce q and j until i watch ur vid. it shows the tongue positions when pronounce them. i have to say that : awesome . best video about chinese study i have ever watched. thank u so much ^^.

[@Mamonoui]

你值得在教中文发音方面获得第一名，非常感谢！我来自阿尔及利亚，母语为阿拉伯语，我正在学习中文。我真的很喜欢你的视频，再次感谢！❤

[@유튜브시청-o7n]

This is as helpful in Mandarin as Rachael's English in American English. Thank you very much.

[@dianesu9532]

Your explanation is clear and great! For some viewers. From a phonological point of view: The English 's' is alveolar and the 'sh' is palatal. But, the Chinese Pinyin 'x' is alveolo-palatal. That is, it's in between the two English sounds.

[@hahaha6553]

x-hs

[@parisavp7161]

Thank you so much! This was the most helpful video I saw on KZbin about this subject. A big thank you from Spain :)

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

Parisa VP Hi Parisa! You’re welcome! And glad you find this helpful;)

[@lucasdasaieve]

Finally a good & clear video about Chinese pronunciation...

[@DarkZerux]

oh my god, you are an excellent teacher, in Brazil none of the teachers say about tongue positioning like you do, thank you very much

[@lotone67]

You're pronunciation videos are awesome. Thank You! 谢谢

[@DallasJordanJams]

I consider these videos reference materials, I come back to these quite often. I think they are the best explanations and learning tools for pronunciation I have found

[@magoldtube]

Best pronunciation lessons I had in any language. Thanks.

[@Bob13Blues]

Thank you Grace. Your lessons are very useful. I appreciate all the hard work you put into teaching us.

[@happystrawberry17]

Thank you so much Grace! I have been struggling to pronounce the nuances between all of these for ages!!! You explained it really well. I can't tell you how grateful I am for your video! ❤

[@XgamersXdimensions]

This is a fantastic series! I love how you include different models of representing the sound: pin yin, bopomofo, and the IPA. Those, the tongue diagrams, and the example words are really helpful for learning to hear and produce the correct pronunciation.

[@Destiny51297]

so happy I found this channel today! I am the type that I can't learn words and go on if I know my pronunciation sucks and don't know how to at least say it in my head. Thank you!

[@amazonpolyglot]

Im my learning i really found it essential to understand the differences between these sounds. Thanks for your help.

[@pear11bear]

The first time in my life i know how to pronounce these correctly, thank you so much, this video is the best for beginner to learn chinese.

[@Henry-teach-Chinese-in-jokes]

Be someone else’s sunshine. Be the reason someone smiles today. Be the reason you smile today. I’ve made many videos teaching Chinese in a humorous way. About 3000 Chinese characters cover 99% characters in newspapers and books. From my previous videos you can learn more than 400 common characters. There are about 120 commonly used Chinese character radicals. From my previous videos, you can learn more than 80 basic radicals. I’ve spent about 100,000 hours studying English humor and Western culture, and many years studying Chinese culture and jokes. My native language is Chinese.

[@hectorpg1181]

Best phonetic explanation of xi ji qi on KZbin ever!

[@anasmirza346]

...你真是一位非常棒的老师，一定比其他的在线教中文课的老师讲得好得多，我只想给你鼓励一下，你作的视频很有帮助，你是最理想的老師。你是最恨可愛的老師。所以我最喜歡的老師。謝謝。哈哈哈 ...你真是一位非常棒的老师，一定比其他的在线教中文课的老师讲得好得多，我只想给你鼓励一下，你作的视频很有帮助，你是最理想的老師。你是最恨可愛的老師。所以我最喜歡的老師。謝謝。哈哈哈

[@brunoss28]

thank you so much for this. after more than 1 year of studying chinese i finally understood this i'm actually crying

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

I'm so glad it helps! :D

[@blub5926]

The best video on that matter. I've been struggling so much with the right pronunciation up to this point. Thanks a lot!

[@fyfisher4922]

you are the best ! clearly explaining how the tongue position and airflow for each word. Thank you so much!!

[@tvclabotv75]

This video is so excellent! Thank you! I have watched many of your videos and they are all great. This particular video is so outstanding that I felt compelled to comment. Thank you for your clear explanations and your drawings that show the proper way to make the sounds.

[@BritskNguyen]

Heck, I've been struggling with these beasts forever. Other clips from mainlanders just shout the sound out without any phonetic and oral configuration explaination. Big Thanks!

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

I'm glad the video helped! You're welcome! ;)

[@vodien8106]

i'm studying abroad inTaiwan now, your videos were so helpful to me. Thanks so muchhh

[@leolau5026]

However, you don’t need to know how to pronounce zh ch sh in Taiwan cause they don’t pronounce it.

[@vodien8106]

@@leolau5026 thank u so much

[@nooooooooooooor4974]

I was searching for the right prononciation for a while (since I am learning Chinese by myself). Your video was very helpful especially when you showed us the tongue position. Thank you

[@someone4585]

IVE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SAY X FOR SO LONG AND DIDNT EVEN REALIZE THE TOUNGE POSITION FOR J AND Q THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@miinh1067]

Awesome video! I speak Vietnamese so tones and sounds are all easy for me, but had a hard time differentiating zh with ch and j with q (Vietnamese only has the d/t pairing of aspirated consonants), this video really helped!

[@paulwalther5237]

This video and the previous one are just amazing. I just dabble in Chinese and I need to come back to refresh my memory on how to say these sounds and your videos are so much better than anyone else's. I am lazy so hunting down this video is a pain and I try just searching for Chinese pronunciation videos and watching them but for some reason other KZbinrs don't put the tongue positions in the video. They just say it and expect viewers to know where to put their tongue. Never take this video down. I am sure I will be back again to dabble in Chinese.

[@madeline569]

Thanks for including the IPA it helped a lot

[@mengyingsun5875]

你解释得太好了！我正需要这样的视频来推荐给我的学生！谢谢！

[@JaderEBrasil]

Thank you very much, your videos are helping me A LOT to understand how to produce these sounds!

[@luizr90]

Amazing video. Love that you use both IPA and zhuyin. Grace, thank you for the teachings!

[@kteforeal]

Oh my god this video series helped so much! I used the IPA for any new language I learn but the images made it 10x better. Thank you so much!

[@Outback246]

Your lessons are so clear and straight forward. Thank you very much.

[@ckelvin2079]

Your graphical explanation really helps

[@omshantiom2279]

I couldn't understand the difference until I saw this video ^^ Thanks a lot!!!

[@torimaru9518]

This method is the most easiest to understand! Thank you! 謝謝。

[@RenoTrader]

hi grace a kind review. I think the reason I have hard time memorizing is because you started explaining x, j , q in thsi order. and then the examples were J Q X.. The order confused me. but thank you.

[@FABULOUSdango-omochi]

難しいけど面白いです！ 素晴らしい動画をありがとうございます

[@RingsOfSolace]

It's so weird because I feel like I can hear the difference in all of them, but I can't pronounce them yet to save my life.

[@phoebe5317]

妳的vedio 很棒👍 👍👍特別是ㄓㄔㄕㄖ的說明， 我的英語老師在學中文發現妳的發音教學影片跟我confirm ⋯ 我告訴他『This is a pretty good video ⋯』 繼續加油吧💪

[@angelharry7678]

I'm a new student and this video helped me alot thank you ♥️♥️

[@MsLaughingRabbit]

I never put much stock into how our lips move with the sounds, but just keeping in mind how j, q, x sort of make you smile made them much easier to distinguish! Thank you!

[@Alia-china]

Thanks, keep doing, you make it easy for me, to pronounce the letters well

[@morgianaalibabax2307]

I know that I MUST practice more and more. Thank you so much Grace for such a load of helpful videos. Always supporting you.✨✨✨🌹

[@sealwang7464]

Very clear & a CD academic, hope you don't mind showing this to many students.

[@brightwin2734]

thanks for making this video. it helps me know how to pronounce correctly

[@nakedsnakeromero5111]

Muchas gracias Grace me ayudo bastante el video anterior y este.

[@sunnyl2659]

oh my goodness! This was SO helpful! I am doing it, I am actually making the sounds! Until now, I have been trying to imitate the sound as best as I can but always able to tell that what I was doing wasn't quite right, wasn't quite the same sound, that the correct pronunciation had some more...complexity....than what I could produce. It is AMAZING to hear myself making the correct sounds now, thank you thank you so much! And at 40 years old, too hey, who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? ;)

[@eastworld8720]

Thank you that was helpful, but how about making a short video about the tones that sound alike?

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

I'll upload a video about Chinese tones this Wednesday (19:00 Taiwan time)! Stay tuned! :)

[@yulpiewsert1520]

thank goodness, i have been trying to figure out how to pronounce zh- versus j- especially when followed by a u like zhu vs. ju. i also had trouble getting a correct sound for x- sounds. this helped a lot!

[@bruh666]

I wish I watched this sooner! I got an explanation when I first started learning but it was oversimplified so I was doing something a little bit wrong even though it sounded the same to me, now with a proper explanation I can hear the difference and it's helping me pronounce more like a native speaker

[@yifan6466]

I like your lesson, it helped me a lot, thank you Grace.

[@melissaaxtell7559]

Again, the format is awesome! I love the IPA and articulation diagrams! They're so great! I was kind of getting the same sounds... Sort of! 🤣 But not really. This makes it so much clearer and easier to practice!

[@YOURhimera]

Love this！I’ve spent 2 years in Xiamen till now, and still don’t speak at all

[@nguyenngoc5432]

a very detailed and clear video. Thank you for your demonstration

[@jumpyhead9706]

Fantastic video. This needs more views! :)

[@AdrianA-tu5qm]

I couldn't understand the differences between these sounds but you have given a good explanation, for which I am grateful. As I understand it now, this is the rule. The consonant still sounds the same, whether followed by /i/ or not, and despite the differences in articulation, but I now know, when reading pinyin, that if /j/, /q/ or/x/ is followed by /i/ it is articulated with the tongue down in the forward position and the lips wide, and the /i/ is pronounced as /ee/. For /zh/, /ch/, /sh/, /r/, /z/, /c/ or /s/, the tongue is always up and back and, if followed by /i/, this is not pronounced as /ee/. Please correct me if I have got it wrong.

[@laura2089]

This is literally the best video I found to explain this ❤️✨

[@TheFiddleFaddle]

Thank you very much for this. I'm interviewing someone with the given name Qin, and I was mangling it in practice. The tongue placement demonstration was really helpful!

[@goldezidane]

What a usaeful video!!! I´m from Spain and it´s great to find material for learning pronunciation that dont depend on analogies with english pronunciation You won one subscriptor and one upvote, thank you very much

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

Nacho SolMar Hello Nacho SolMar:) Actually what you said is one of my goal of teaching pronunciation! I know it’ll be confusing sometimes to analogy Chinese sounds to English sounds, and it’ll properly not sound so native if you learn it that way. So that’s why I’m trying to teach tongue positions directly! :)

[@xiaojunslefteyebrow]

Estamos en las mismas jaja

[@lucasthomson]

THIS WAS SO USEFUL. Many thanks x

[@juanpaulomolina180]

Very very useful . Thank you. I have been struggling with those pronunciations.

[@Quadraginta1337]

谢谢您，Gloria。 That X is what’s most challenging so far. This helped a lot. But I still have a hard time pronouncing 学 and 学习。 My phone thinks I’m saying 水when I just say 学。 When I say 学习it picks up on it a little more successfully but it’s still iffy at times. Also I have a background in cantonese, which messes with some pronunciation.

[@CrlMchd]

Excellent lesson! Deep knowledge

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

Carlos Machado Glad you like it!!💕

[@lucasmatias.coaching]

This serie of pronunciation was really helpful. Thank you, Grace. I am on your Instagram. You're amazing!

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

Lucas Matias.Coach_ Thank you!! Glad you like this series! Happy to have you on Instagram and here! :D

[@HypnoticLights]

Thank you! I have struggles differentiating the zh / j and ch / q. This video has brought clarity to me. 😭❤️

[@agnesbiro-petho1931]

You are a great teacher! Ági from Budapest

[@eitanwaxman1862]

Thanks Grace! I noticed in this video you always used xi, ji, qi. Is the IPA the same for other words with x, j, q? For example ju, jing, quan qiu etc? Or does the ending change the mouth formation of the initial consonant?

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

eitan waxman You’re welcome! About your question, the IPA remains the same :)

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

eitan waxman You’re welcome! About your question, the IPA remains the same :)

[@goryaudio]

Thank you so much. This video is very helpful. Thank you again

[@bilawalsoomro740]

You are doing great work you solved my problem thanks

[@amazonpolyglot]

Thanks Grace. I am really learning!

[@sharkdzung]

Awesome. Thanks sweetie! I'm strugling with these sounds and this vid did help me out.

[@myavahaha]

your videos are so good, the best i’ve ever come across!! the way you explain things is so easy to understand and memorize, thank you for putting out such great educational content

[@911reparaciones3]

Eres la mejor explicado. Genia total

[@qaaqqutsiaqtaatsiaq8796]

For such a long time I got told that the j is the same as the English j, apparently it was wrong. Thank you ☺️ this video helped a LOT

[@Story.line19]

THANK YOUTH'S! This is gamechanger! 😍 But I feel like you just made my mandarin practice 10 times harder! I was doing so many things wrong! 😅

[@NastashaK]

Thank you for the clear explanation! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@Forever_we_are_young]

Thank you, this video helps me a lot, Now I got the concept.

[@kanjanawanooey1735]

easy to understand. I love it. Thank you laoshi.

[@Galaunicorn]

The pictures of tongue position are really helpful!