Chi or Chee or qui or tchee or WTF

[Mick]

Thanks for sending me the table.  It seems to have nearly every sound possible for human speech organs to make. 

 

Sometimes you will hear Chinese people use another sound which I believe is not really a meaning-carrying sound (a phoneme), that is a scratchy "h" in the back of the throat.  This is just an affectation, I would expect, though I am not a linguist, but I enjoy listening to the different degrees of scratchiness.

 

It is interesting the way they are incorporating English - like when you hear "OK" in the middle of a barrage of verbiage.

Watch out with that "h" thing Robert. My experience in China is that is the sound, the one made deep in the back of the throat, that someone makes just before they spit.

[dewdrop]

Han Yu Pin Yin is the symbol to teach you how to pronounce Mandarine.It is easy to learn and useful for the beginners.