地方口音 Regional Accents

中国Zhōngguó很hěn大dà，每měi个ge地方dìfang的de人rén说shuō普通话pǔtōnghuà的de时候shíhou，都dōu可能kěnéng带dài一点儿yìdiǎnr自己zìjǐ的de口音kǒuyīn。

China is huge — when people from different places speak Mandarin, each may carry a little accent of their own.

比如bǐrú，有些yǒuxiē南方nánfāng朋友péngyou分不清fēn bu qīng“四sì”和hé“十shí”，他们tāmen说shuō“四十sìshí”的de时候shíhou，听tīng的de人rén常常chángcháng要yào想一想xiǎng yi xiǎng。

For example, some southern friends can't tell "si" (four) from "shi" (ten); when they say "forty", listeners often have to think for a second.

我wǒ刚gāng到dào北京Běijīng上shàng大学dàxué的de时候shíhou，同学们tóngxuémen一yì听tīng我wǒ说话shuōhuà，就jiù笑着xiàozhe问wèn：“你nǐ是shì南方人nánfāngrén吧ba？”

When I first went to Beijing for university, the moment my classmates heard me talk, they would ask with a smile: "You're from the south, right?"

那nà时候shíhou我wǒ有点儿yǒudiǎnr不好意思bù hǎoyìsi，甚至shènzhì不bù太tài想xiǎng在zài班bān里li说话shuōhuà。

Back then I felt a bit embarrassed, and didn't even really want to speak up in class.

后来hòulái一yí位wèi老师lǎoshī对duì我wǒ说shuō：“口音kǒuyīn不bú是shì缺点quēdiǎn，它tā说明shuōmíng你nǐ有yǒu自己zìjǐ的de家乡jiāxiāng。”

Later a teacher said to me: "An accent is not a flaw — it shows you have a hometown of your own."

现在xiànzài我wǒ发现fāxiàn，口音kǒuyīn让ràng语言yǔyán变得biàn de更gèng丰富fēngfù，就jiù像xiàng同tóng一yí个ge菜cài在zài不同bùtóng的de地方dìfang有yǒu不同bùtóng的de味道wèidao。

Now I find that accents make a language richer, just as the same dish tastes different in different places.

对duì学xué中文Zhōngwén的de你nǐ来说lái shuō，也yě不用búyòng害怕hàipà自己zìjǐ的de口音kǒuyīn，只要zhǐyào别人biéren能néng听懂tīngdǒng，你nǐ就jiù已经yǐjīng说shuō得de很hěn好hǎo了le。

For you as a Chinese learner, there's no need to fear your own accent either — as long as people can understand you, you're already speaking well.

越yuè敢gǎn开口kāikǒu，进步jìnbù就jiù越yuè快kuài，这zhè比bǐ标准biāozhǔn的de发音fāyīn重要zhòngyào得de多duō。

The more you dare to speak up, the faster you improve — and that matters far more than perfect pronunciation.

🔊 Audio uses your device's Chinese voice for now — teacher recordings are coming. Tap any word to see its meaning.

Key words 生词

口音kǒuyīnaccent

普通话pǔtōnghuàMandarin (standard Chinese)

分不清fēn bu qīngcannot tell apart

缺点quēdiǎnshortcoming; flaw

家乡jiāxiānghometown

发音fāyīnpronunciation

只要……就……

"As long as A, then B" — B follows whenever the simple condition A is met: 只要别人能听懂，你就已经说得很好了。

只要你每天练习，就一定会进步。 — As long as you practice every day, you will definitely improve.

越……越……

"The more ... the more ..." shows two things increasing together: 越敢开口，进步就越快。

汉语越学越有意思。 — The more you study Chinese, the more interesting it gets.

甚至

"Even" introduces an extreme example that pushes the point further: 我有点儿不好意思，甚至不太想在班里说话。

他忙得甚至忘了吃饭。 — He was so busy that he even forgot to eat.

1. Why do listeners sometimes need a moment when some southern speakers say "forty"?

2. What did the teacher tell the author about accents?

3. According to the author, what matters more than standard pronunciation?