Chinese (Mandarin)/Lesson 17
Lesson 17: Common heteronyms in Chinese 基础多音字/基礎多音字
[edit | edit source]You might notice in some character in Chinese, for example, 長, has two pronunciation. Just like English, Chinese also has heteronym. Today, we are going to learn some basic heteronym in Chinese!
What are heteronyms?
[edit | edit source]Heteronym is a word which has two different pronunciation with two meaning. In English, for example, the word "tear" can mean liquid from the eyes, but it can also mean to rip. In Chinese, heteronyms are called 多音字(duōyīnzì) or 破音字(pòyīnzì).
List of common heteronyms in Chinese
[edit | edit source]| Simplified (简) | Traditional (繁) | Pinyin 1 | Meaning 1 | Pinyin 2 | Meaning 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 长 | 長 | cháng | Long | zhǎng | To grow / Leader |
| 行 | 行 | xíng | To walk / Okay | háng | Row / Profession |
| 得 | 得 | dé | To get / obtain | děi | Must / have to |
| 还 | 還 | hái | Still / also | huán | To return / give back |
| 好 | 好 | hǎo | Good / fine | hào | To like / be fond of |
| 乐 | 樂 | lè | Happy / fun | yuè | Music |
| 觉 | 覺 | jué | To feel / sense | jiào | Sleep |
| 看 | 看 | kàn | To look / watch | kān | To guard / look after |
| 少 | 少 | shǎo | Few / less | shào | Young |
| 便 | 便 | biàn | Convenient | pián | Cheap (as in 便宜) |
| 重 | 重 | zhòng | Heavy | chóng | Repeat / again |
| 发 | 發 | fā | To send / develop | fà | Hair (stylized as 髮) |
| 调 | 調 | tiáo | To adjust / mix | diào | Tone / melody / transfer |
| 切 | 切 | qiē | To cut / slice | qiè | Close to / urgent |
More than two Pronunciation
[edit | edit source]著/着
[edit | edit source]- zhe — The Continuous "-ing"
- zháo — The Successful Result
- zhuó — To Wear or Apply
- zhù — To Write or Manifest
- zhāo — The Move or Trick