<ol>
<li><p>Except for established elisions – e.g. <code>之於 (zhī yú) -&gt; 諸 (zhū)</code>, <code>不用 (bú yòng) -&gt; 甭 (béng)</code>, <code>這一 (zhè yī) -&gt; 這 (zhèi)</code>, even if you write out what you hear in pinyin (assuming you followed all the orthographic rules, of course), it is meaningless, because <em>normally</em> you cannot correlate multiple syllables with one character, or multiple characters with one syllable. Pinyin is a system of romanisation, not of phonetic notation.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Using IPA to truthfully record your observation is however acceptable, because it is a rigorous system of phonetic notation. (See how IPA was used in elision studies of Taiwanese Mandarin <a href="http://www.concentric-linguistics.url.tw/upload/articlesfs161402111125124738.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>) So you <em>may</em> argue a native could understand <code>[ni˨˩ s/ʂɯ˧˥ mi˥˧ sɯ꜊]</code> or even <code>[ni˨˩ s/ʂmi˥˧ sɯ꜊]</code> as <code>你什麼意思？</code> or <code>你是什麼意思？</code>, but this 1) requires more linguistic proof, 2) is not a 'good' pronunciation (from a prescriptivist point of view), and 3) does not have an equivalent in pinyin.</p>
</li>
<li><p>However, I can support the <code>/n/</code> to <code>[m]</code> assimilation in <code>什麼 shén me</code> (see <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/43631/27428">here</a>), which may have a role in the elision of your sentence. The dropping of one of the consonants in <code>是什</code> out of similarity is also likely. Finally, <code>意</code> begins with a semivowel, which may also facilitate its merging with the previous consonant <code>[m]</code> in <code>麼</code>.</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-22T11:46:11.017Z
2021-04-22T22:54:36.773Z
2021-04-22T22:54:36.773Z
L Parker
<p>For searching Pinyin, you can simply paste it into Google translate
<code>你是什么意思 - Nǐ shì shénme yìsi</code></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-22T10:20:38.433Z
The Pinyin is given for WRITTEN Chinese; I'm looking for the Pinyin in SPOKEN Chinese. How to contract the Pinyin in SPOKEN Chinese?
Astrid TAW
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-22T10:50:25.217Z
Google Translate itself has a pronunciation feature, just click the audio icon at the bottom.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-23T02:21:36.647Z
This is the first time I heard about "Pinyin in spoken chinese". I've asked my teacher but she's got no idea of it. I'm asking my chinese friend and wait her for response
judaikun88
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-22T10:01:50.780Z
2021-04-22T10:01:50.780Z
judaikun88
<p>Looking up the Chinese translation of 'What do you mean' in my (pocket) dictionaries and in some translation engines on the internet results in 你是什么意思. In spoken Chinese I hear sounds like 'si mi si' and I'm under the impression that there is some character contraction here. What is the Pinyin pronunciation of 你是什么意思 in spoken Chinese?</p>

<pronunciation>
How to pronounce 你是什么意思 in spoken Chinese?
# How to pronounce 你是什么意思 in spoken Chinese?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-04-22)

Looking up the Chinese translation of 'What do you mean' in my (pocket) dictionaries and in some translation engines on the internet results in 你是什么意思. In spoken Chinese I hear sounds like 'si mi si' and I'm under the impression that there is some character contraction here. What is the Pinyin pronunciation of 你是什么意思 in spoken Chinese?

**Tags:** pronunciation


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-04-22. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

1. Except for established elisions – e.g. `之於 (zhī yú) -> 諸 (zhū)`, `不用 (bú yòng) -> 甭 (béng)`, `這一 (zhè yī) -> 這 (zhèi)`, even if you write out what you hear in pinyin (assuming you followed all the orthographic rules, of course), it is meaningless, because *normally* you cannot correlate multiple syllables with one character, or multiple characters with one syllable. Pinyin is a system of romanisation, not of phonetic notation.
2. Using IPA to truthfully record your observation is however acceptable, because it is a rigorous system of phonetic notation. (See how IPA was used in elision studies of Taiwanese Mandarin [here](http://www.concentric-linguistics.url.tw/upload/articlesfs161402111125124738.pdf)) So you *may* argue a native could understand `[ni˨˩ s/ʂɯ˧˥ mi˥˧ sɯ꜊]` or even `[ni˨˩ s/ʂmi˥˧ sɯ꜊]` as `你什麼意思？` or `你是什麼意思？`, but this 1) requires more linguistic proof, 2) is not a 'good' pronunciation (from a prescriptivist point of view), and 3) does not have an equivalent in pinyin.
3. However, I can support the `/n/` to `[m]` assimilation in `什麼 shén me` (see [here](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/43631/27428)), which may have a role in the elision of your sentence. The dropping of one of the consonants in `是什` out of similarity is also likely. Finally, `意` begins with a semivowel, which may also facilitate its merging with the previous consonant `[m]` in `麼`.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-04-22. Score: 0

For searching Pinyin, you can simply paste it into Google translate
`你是什么意思 - Nǐ shì shénme yìsi`

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: The Pinyin is given for WRITTEN Chinese; I'm looking for the Pinyin in SPOKEN Chinese. How to contract the Pinyin in SPOKEN Chinese?  
> **username_3**: Google Translate itself has a pronunciation feature, just click the audio icon at the bottom.  
> **username_2**: This is the first time I heard about "Pinyin in spoken chinese". I've asked my teacher but she's got no idea of it. I'm asking my chinese friend and wait her for response  

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