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?

After this reading

I'm Fei, and I teach Mandarin one-on-one on Preply. Bring this text to a trial lesson — we'll fix your tones and turn it into a real conversation.