<p>This might be historical reasons. According to some discussions in other forums, 'Di' pronunciation was common in almost all songs before 1995. After 2000, almost all are pronounced as 'De' -- the same as speaking. If you sing late songs with 'Di' sound, it sounds really weird, because it is no longer common in spoken languages.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T01:13:21.370Z
2014-05-28T01:13:21.370Z
Danke Xie
<p>的 地 得 as particles should be pronounced as <code>de</code> in the standard Mandarin Chinese. However, they are usually pronounced as <code>di</code> in singing.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T06:28:50.677Z
2014-05-28T06:28:50.677Z
Victor
<p>90% Singers are pronouncing incorrectly. And even those wrongly pronounced songs are even more popular than correct ones.</p>

<p>In this case, the correct pronunciation should be <code>[de]</code>.</p>

<p>Just fyi, the singer of <code>吻别</code> is <code>张学友</code> from Hong Kong. People from Hong Kong are not quite professional in Mandarin.</p>

<p>Update on May 4: sorry that I didn't check Jacky's original version on Youtube. He's pronouncing it correctly.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-29T07:29:20.937Z
No, it has to be [di] when singing. 90% of the singers pronounce it incorrectly as [de].
user58955
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-29T07:41:51.397Z
@user58955 I agree with your "Certain pronunciation rules don't apply to singing." But I haven't heard any specific rule for singing. Why did you say it *has to be* `di`?
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-29T07:56:05.427Z
Erm, I learnt that in my primary school music class... I don't know if there's an official document prescribing this.
user58955
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-04T11:43:58.283Z
Sorry I didn't check the Youtube version. But I don't think `speaking non-standard Mandarin` is a "accusation ". Actually I know some people from Hong Kong don't care about that (whether they can speak standard Mandarin) at all.
AGamePlayer
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-29T04:10:10.813Z
2014-05-04T11:45:03.487Z
2014-05-04T11:45:03.487Z
AGamePlayer
<p>的 can even be pronounced 'di' for emphasis.
A lot of kids when they say 我的 will say "wo di" just to emphasize.</p>

<p>Something similar can happen with 地. Singers prefer to use the 'di' pronunciation - perhaps it sounds cuter. In some regions people also insist on reading 地 as 'di' and will tell foreigners likewise - but in MSM (Modern Standard Mandarin) it <em>should</em>, as oxford mentions, be read 'de'.</p>

<p>Edit: the only instance of this I can find in a dictionary is KEY dictionary, under '地' di entry they have the following explanation:</p>

<p>6 (suffix, forming an adverb from an adjective, e.g., gāoxìng 高興/高兴 "happy" + dì 地 yields gāoxìngdì 高興地/高兴地 "happily"; in this function often pronounced "de")</p>

<p>de entry:</p>

<p>{grammar} (variant pronunciation of -dì) (forming an adverb from an adjectiv, e.g., gāoxìng 高興/高兴 "happy" + de 地 yields gāoxìngde 高興地/高兴地 "happily")</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-29T04:05:09.193Z
2014-04-29T04:42:05.853Z
2014-04-29T04:42:05.853Z
Mou某
<p>Very interesting question.</p>
<p>Like what @AwQiruiGuo has said, 地 should be pronounced as [de] (in speech, that is). And indeed the mentioned singer does not speak perfect Mandarin.</p>
<p>However, this question has a more complicated background and should not be simply explained as the personal accent of the singer. Because in the case of songs, pronunciation variation kicks in.</p>
<p>Chinese Mandarin is a tonal language. But when the lyrics were sung, rhythm and beats can alter the tones. I'll take the lyric in the question as an example: Dictionary says 那 should be pronounced in 4th tone, but in this song, 那 is in 1st tone. Just listen to this song, and imagine what it would sound like if 那 is sung in 4th tone.</p>
<p>In lyric, when a character is on the downbeat, it is accented (stressed). If we mark all the downbeats, the lyric in the question will look like this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>冷得[连]隐[藏]的[遗]憾都[那]么[地]明[显]</p>
<p>The characters in square brackets are on downbeats.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In Chinese phonology there is a concept called 平仄, which deals with the arrangement of characters in poems (诗) and lyrics (词) according to their tones. 词 is an art form with strict metrical foot which is comparable to English poetry. You have to write each line of lyrics with specific number of syllables in specific stressed/unstressed order. The guideline of how you arrange the stressed/unstressed syllables was of course the original rhythm and beats of ancient songs, which unfortunately were most - if not all - lost in the history.</p>
<p>Ancient Chinese pronunciation was different from modern Chinese but you can roughly interpret 平 as stressed (1st and 2nd tones in modern Mandarin) and 仄 as unstressed (3rd, 4th and 5th tones in modern Mandarin). Although pop music does not follow ancient meters any more, rhythms and beats still impact pronunciation because it's only nature that people pronounce stressed syllables on downbeats.</p>
<p>With this in mind, now take a look again at the downbeat characters in the mentioned line of the lyrics:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>冷得[连]隐[藏]的[遗]憾都[那]么[地]明[显]</p>
<p>连: 2nd tone, stressed. In this song, it sounds like 1st tone, still stressed.</p>
<p>藏: 2nd tone, stressed. In this song, it sounds like 1st tone, still stressed.</p>
<p>遗: 2nd tone, stressed. In this song, it sounds like 1st tone, still stressed.</p>
<p>那: 4th tone, unstressed. But in this song, it sounds like 1st tone, stressed.</p>
<p>显: 3rd tone, unstressed. But in this song, it sounds like 1st tone, stressed.</p>
<p>now back to 地 in question: should be 5th tone, unstressed. But in this song, it sounds like 1st tone, and is altered from [de] to [di].</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Because [de] was 5th tone which is a very light one, if simply pronounced as [de] in 1st tone it just doesn't feel right. So traditionally when you want to stress [de5] you make it [di1]. And not only 地, but even 的 also follows this rule. I think this usage traces back to Chinese Opera. For example in <em>The Legend of the Red Lantern (红灯记)</em> there are some famous lines of lyrics：</p>
<blockquote>
<p>穷人的孩子早当家</p>
<p>都有一颗红亮的心</p>
</blockquote>
<p>where 的 is pronounced as [di], even if it's not on downbeat.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-30T03:11:39.903Z
This is because tone are realized by pitch change, and pitch is constrained in songs. So when a character corresponds to only one note, its pitch would be flat and it sounds like 1st tone (this only flat tone in Mandarin).
fefe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-30T03:17:23.237Z
Peking Opera (you wrote as Chinese Opera in your answer. China has too many different kinds of opera) is quite different from pop song. Peking Opera does have its only rules on pronunciation of characters. In Peking opera, no only the tones, but also the pronunciation itself will change.
fefe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-30T07:18:16.737Z
@fefe good call on Peking opera's pronounciation, I'm not familiar with that. :) But I do think its unique pronounciation has influenced modern Mandarin (intended or not) for Peking has been a political/cultural center for a long time.
Rephinx
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-04T12:55:36.593Z
Thank you! As a native speaker, I remembered that a music teacher has talked about the pronunciation of 'de' in songs, but your answer is very professional and systematical!
zsf222
CC BY-SA 4.0
2014-04-29T08:42:03.227Z
2022-08-06T00:22:04.120Z
2022-08-06T00:22:04.120Z
Rephinx
<p>May I know how the rules governing the pronunciation of 地?</p>
<p>In the song, 吻别, the singer pronounces 地 as di.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>冷得连隐藏的遗憾都那么地明显</p>
<p>leng de lian yin cang de yi han du na me di ming xian</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, a quick check with the Oxford Chinese-English Dictionary suggests that 地 is pronounced de when used</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[with an adverb or adverbial phrase]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>while the pronunciation of di is used when referring to distance, position, etc.</p>
<p>Is my interpretation of the Oxford Dictionary wrong?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-29T07:30:32.020Z
Certain pronunciation rules don't apply to singing. This is one of them.
user58955
<pronunciation>
地 pronunciation variation
# 地 pronunciation variation

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-04-29)

May I know how the rules governing the pronunciation of 地?

In the song, 吻别, the singer pronounces 地 as di.

> 冷得连隐藏的遗憾都那么地明显
>
> leng de lian yin cang de yi han du na me di ming xian

However, a quick check with the Oxford Chinese-English Dictionary suggests that 地 is pronounced de when used

> [with an adverb or adverbial phrase]

while the pronunciation of di is used when referring to distance, position, etc.

Is my interpretation of the Oxford Dictionary wrong?

**Tags:** pronunciation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Certain pronunciation rules don't apply to singing. This is one of them.  

---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_7 on 2014-04-29. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

Very interesting question.

Like what @AwQiruiGuo has said, 地 should be pronounced as [de] (in speech, that is). And indeed the mentioned singer does not speak perfect Mandarin.

However, this question has a more complicated background and should not be simply explained as the personal accent of the singer. Because in the case of songs, pronunciation variation kicks in.

Chinese Mandarin is a tonal language. But when the lyrics were sung, rhythm and beats can alter the tones. I'll take the lyric in the question as an example: Dictionary says 那 should be pronounced in 4th tone, but in this song, 那 is in 1st tone. Just listen to this song, and imagine what it would sound like if 那 is sung in 4th tone.

In lyric, when a character is on the downbeat, it is accented (stressed). If we mark all the downbeats, the lyric in the question will look like this:

> 冷得[连]隐[藏]的[遗]憾都[那]么[地]明[显]
>
> The characters in square brackets are on downbeats.

In Chinese phonology there is a concept called 平仄, which deals with the arrangement of characters in poems (诗) and lyrics (词) according to their tones. 词 is an art form with strict metrical foot which is comparable to English poetry. You have to write each line of lyrics with specific number of syllables in specific stressed/unstressed order. The guideline of how you arrange the stressed/unstressed syllables was of course the original rhythm and beats of ancient songs, which unfortunately were most - if not all - lost in the history.

Ancient Chinese pronunciation was different from modern Chinese but you can roughly interpret 平 as stressed (1st and 2nd tones in modern Mandarin) and 仄 as unstressed (3rd, 4th and 5th tones in modern Mandarin). Although pop music does not follow ancient meters any more, rhythms and beats still impact pronunciation because it's only nature that people pronounce stressed syllables on downbeats.

With this in mind, now take a look again at the downbeat characters in the mentioned line of the lyrics:

> 冷得[连]隐[藏]的[遗]憾都[那]么[地]明[显]
>
> 连: 2nd tone, stressed. In this song, it sounds like 1st tone, still stressed.
>
> 藏: 2nd tone, stressed. In this song, it sounds like 1st tone, still stressed.
>
> 遗: 2nd tone, stressed. In this song, it sounds like 1st tone, still stressed.
>
> 那: 4th tone, unstressed. But in this song, it sounds like 1st tone, stressed.
>
> 显: 3rd tone, unstressed. But in this song, it sounds like 1st tone, stressed.
>
> now back to 地 in question: should be 5th tone, unstressed. But in this song, it sounds like 1st tone, and is altered from [de] to [di].

Because [de] was 5th tone which is a very light one, if simply pronounced as [de] in 1st tone it just doesn't feel right. So traditionally when you want to stress [de5] you make it [di1]. And not only 地, but even 的 also follows this rule. I think this usage traces back to Chinese Opera. For example in *The Legend of the Red Lantern (红灯记)* there are some famous lines of lyrics：

> 穷人的孩子早当家
>
> 都有一颗红亮的心

where 的 is pronounced as [di], even if it's not on downbeat.

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: This is because tone are realized by pitch change, and pitch is constrained in songs. So when a character corresponds to only one note, its pitch would be flat and it sounds like 1st tone (this only flat tone in Mandarin).  
> **username_8**: Peking Opera (you wrote as Chinese Opera in your answer. China has too many different kinds of opera) is quite different from pop song. Peking Opera does have its only rules on pronunciation of characters. In Peking opera, no only the tones, but also the pronunciation itself will change.  
> **username_7**: @username_8 good call on Peking opera's pronounciation, I'm not familiar with that. :) But I do think its unique pronounciation has influenced modern Mandarin (intended or not) for Peking has been a political/cultural center for a long time.  
> **username_9**: Thank you! As a native speaker, I remembered that a music teacher has talked about the pronunciation of 'de' in songs, but your answer is very professional and systematical!  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-05-28. Score: 3

This might be historical reasons. According to some discussions in other forums, 'Di' pronunciation was common in almost all songs before 1995. After 2000, almost all are pronounced as 'De' -- the same as speaking. If you sing late songs with 'Di' sound, it sounds really weird, because it is no longer common in spoken languages.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-05-28. Score: 3

的 地 得 as particles should be pronounced as `de` in the standard Mandarin Chinese. However, they are usually pronounced as `di` in singing.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-04-29. Score: 1

90% Singers are pronouncing incorrectly. And even those wrongly pronounced songs are even more popular than correct ones.

In this case, the correct pronunciation should be `[de]`.

Just fyi, the singer of `吻别` is `张学友` from Hong Kong. People from Hong Kong are not quite professional in Mandarin.

Update on May 4: sorry that I didn't check Jacky's original version on Youtube. He's pronouncing it correctly.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: No, it has to be [di] when singing. 90% of the singers pronounce it incorrectly as [de].  
> **username_5**: @username_1 I agree with your "Certain pronunciation rules don't apply to singing." But I haven't heard any specific rule for singing. Why did you say it *has to be* `di`?  
> **username_1**: Erm, I learnt that in my primary school music class... I don't know if there's an official document prescribing this.  
> **username_4**: Sorry I didn't check the Youtube version. But I don't think `speaking non-standard Mandarin` is a "accusation ". Actually I know some people from Hong Kong don't care about that (whether they can speak standard Mandarin) at all.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2014-04-29. Score: 0

的 can even be pronounced 'di' for emphasis.
A lot of kids when they say 我的 will say "wo di" just to emphasize.

Something similar can happen with 地. Singers prefer to use the 'di' pronunciation - perhaps it sounds cuter. In some regions people also insist on reading 地 as 'di' and will tell foreigners likewise - but in MSM (Modern Standard Mandarin) it *should*, as oxford mentions, be read 'de'.

Edit: the only instance of this I can find in a dictionary is KEY dictionary, under '地' di entry they have the following explanation:

6 (suffix, forming an adverb from an adjective, e.g., gāoxìng 高興/高兴 "happy" + dì 地 yields gāoxìngdì 高興地/高兴地 "happily"; in this function often pronounced "de")

de entry:

{grammar} (variant pronunciation of -dì) (forming an adverb from an adjectiv, e.g., gāoxìng 高興/高兴 "happy" + de 地 yields gāoxìngde 高興地/高兴地 "happily")


---

