<p>I think it's an old pronunciation. I remembered this pronunciation appeared in a classic poem composed approximately in Tang dynasty.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>珠泪纷纷湿绮罗，少年公子负恩多。当初姊妹分明道，莫把真心过于他。仔细思量着，淡薄只闻不好么？</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The note says the correct pronunciation is &quot;tuo&quot;, which rhymes with &quot;罗&quot;,&quot;多&quot; and &quot;么&quot;. According to the poem's pattern,&quot;他&quot; should rhyme here.</p>
<p>In modern usage, I don't sound &quot;tuo&quot; in any case. &quot;ta&quot; is the only correct pronunciation. In order to rhyme, I'll read some characters with old pronunciations when reading classic poems.</p>
<p>Such a phenomenon is called &quot;古音异读&quot; (lit. special ancient pronunciation), however, while the languages is evolving as time flies, some special pronunciations have been ignored by the public, and thus get lost.</p>
<p>Some other examples for &quot;古音异读&quot;. The fomer pronunciation is &quot;modern pronunciation&quot;, and the latter is the &quot;special ancient pronunciation&quot;.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>可汗 kě hàn vs kè hán</p>
<p>莫顿 mào dùn vs mò dú</p>
<p>斜 xié vs xiá</p>
<p>汤汤 tāngtāng vs shāngshāng</p>
<p>骑 qí vs jì</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sometimes I'm still confused when reading these characters. A typical one is &quot;骑&quot;, when I learned it in a famous verse &quot;一骑红尘妃子笑&quot;, I was taught the correct pronunciation was &quot;jì&quot; which means &quot;a rider on a horse&quot;; however, now in the dictionary, the pronunciation for this meaning is also qí.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-02T12:32:38.623Z
2014-06-02T13:04:28.007Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Huang
<p>Is there an old way of pronouncing 牠? I remember learning to pronounce it as &quot;tuo&quot; when I was in primary school, which was more than 40 years ago. I know it is pronounced as &quot;ta&quot; now.</p>

<difference><pronunciation><pronouns>
Is there an old way of pronouncing 牠?
# Is there an old way of pronouncing 牠?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-06-02)

Is there an old way of pronouncing 牠? I remember learning to pronounce it as "tuo" when I was in primary school, which was more than 40 years ago. I know it is pronounced as "ta" now.

**Tags:** difference, pronunciation, pronouns


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-06-02. Score: 1

I think it's an old pronunciation. I remembered this pronunciation appeared in a classic poem composed approximately in Tang dynasty.

> 珠泪纷纷湿绮罗，少年公子负恩多。当初姊妹分明道，莫把真心过于他。仔细思量着，淡薄只闻不好么？

The note says the correct pronunciation is "tuo", which rhymes with "罗","多" and "么". According to the poem's pattern,"他" should rhyme here.

In modern usage, I don't sound "tuo" in any case. "ta" is the only correct pronunciation. In order to rhyme, I'll read some characters with old pronunciations when reading classic poems.

Such a phenomenon is called "古音异读" (lit. special ancient pronunciation), however, while the languages is evolving as time flies, some special pronunciations have been ignored by the public, and thus get lost.

Some other examples for "古音异读". The fomer pronunciation is "modern pronunciation", and the latter is the "special ancient pronunciation".

> 可汗 kě hàn vs kè hán
>
> 莫顿 mào dùn vs mò dú
>
> 斜 xié vs xiá
>
> 汤汤 tāngtāng vs shāngshāng
>
> 骑 qí vs jì

Sometimes I'm still confused when reading these characters. A typical one is "骑", when I learned it in a famous verse "一骑红尘妃子笑", I was taught the correct pronunciation was "jì" which means "a rider on a horse"; however, now in the dictionary, the pronunciation for this meaning is also qí.


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