<p>In pinyin erhua is usually written with a natural tone:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>r</p>
</blockquote>
<p>哪儿, like you mentioned above, for example is written:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>nǎr</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Erhua is tacked on to the end of the pinyin and the tone is in the usual place for the preceding character.</p>
<p>An easier way to see this is probably for a word like 瓶儿. 瓶儿 is written:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>píngr</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The erhua is not merged into the pinyin (like you may see in some topolectical Romanizations) but just placed at the end somewhat unsightly. This is because the whole word is read as a whole and not in parts.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-05T15:08:06.613Z
Yes, it's still one syllable and therefore has no tone of its own.
Olle Linge
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-05T16:08:38.267Z
Thanks a lot, please have you got the Chinese word for Erhua ?
faure
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-05T16:20:30.320Z
@faure 儿化. Here's the English Wiki page: [Erhua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhua) and the Chinese Wiki page: [儿化](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E5%85%92%E5%8C%96)
Mou某
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2021-01-05T14:52:07.080Z
2021-01-05T15:07:30.357Z
2021-01-05T15:07:30.357Z
Mou某
<p>The retroflex r is not the consonant r in a word (pinyin) like in 人  rén.<br />
The retroflex is added as a suffix in the Beijing area, or as a diminutive suffix.</p>
<p>Would it be pronounced with the second tone, because 儿 is pronounced ér?
Or would it be pronounced like the previous syllable? Like in 哪儿 it would be pronounced 3rd tone, or 4th tone as in 那儿?<br />
Is there a rule to pronounce that retroflex?</p>

<mandarin><pronunciation><simplified-characters><pinyin>
What tone for retroflex r?
# What tone for retroflex r?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-01-05)

The retroflex r is not the consonant r in a word (pinyin) like in 人 rén.  
The retroflex is added as a suffix in the Beijing area, or as a diminutive suffix.

Would it be pronounced with the second tone, because 儿 is pronounced ér?
Or would it be pronounced like the previous syllable? Like in 哪儿 it would be pronounced 3rd tone, or 4th tone as in 那儿?  
Is there a rule to pronounce that retroflex?

**Tags:** mandarin, pronunciation, simplified-characters, pinyin


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-01-05. Score: 3

In pinyin erhua is usually written with a natural tone:

> r

哪儿, like you mentioned above, for example is written:

> nǎr

Erhua is tacked on to the end of the pinyin and the tone is in the usual place for the preceding character.

An easier way to see this is probably for a word like 瓶儿. 瓶儿 is written:

> píngr

The erhua is not merged into the pinyin (like you may see in some topolectical Romanizations) but just placed at the end somewhat unsightly. This is because the whole word is read as a whole and not in parts.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Yes, it's still one syllable and therefore has no tone of its own.  
> **username_0**: Thanks a lot, please have you got the Chinese word for Erhua ?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 儿化. Here's the English Wiki page: [Erhua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhua) and the Chinese Wiki page: [儿化](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E5%85%92%E5%8C%96)  

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