<p>The consonant sound written with <em>j-</em> in Pinyin does not exist in English, so using English words to approximate it will always be wrong to some extent.</p>
<p>Pinyin <em>j</em> consists of two sounds, a stop and a fricative. Let's start with the fricative, written [ɕ] in IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet) and <em>x</em> in Pinyin.</p>
<p>To produce this sound, place the tip of your tongue against your lower teeth ridge (that's the &quot;shelf&quot; you can feel behind your lower teeth), then try to say &quot;sh&quot; as in English &quot;she&quot;, without moving the tongue tip. This will result in thicker-sounding <em>s</em>, produced with the blade of the tongue (further back than the tip, which is involved when you say a normal <em>s</em>).</p>
<p>To get to <em>j-</em>, simply add a small stop in front of the fricative we just learnt. That means briefly stopping the airflow, then letting it out while producing the [ɕ] sound. That results in [t͡ɕ], which is how <em>j</em> is written using IPA.</p>
<p>Note that if you release the air forcefully, you get aspiration, which is used to distinguish phonemes in Mandarin, so instead of <em>j-</em>, you'd be pronouncing <em>q-</em> instead. The aspiration is written with a superscript &quot;h&quot;, so <em>qi</em> is [t͡ɕʰ] in IPA. <em>j-</em> should not be aspirated. It should not be voiced either.</p>
<p>The <em>-i</em> bit shouldn't cause too much trouble. It's pronounced [i], which is the same sound as in English &quot;free&quot;, although a bit further forward and more closed. The difference is not very big.</p>
<p>鸡/雞, jī, &quot;chicken&quot;, IPA: [t͡ɕi], with a high, flat tone.</p>
<p>If forced to choose between the alternatives you gave, then &quot;dj&quot; is probably closer because it also combines a stop with a fricative (called an affricate). Note that both the stop itself and the fricative are the wrong ones, though. &quot;dj&quot; in English is voiced, whereas Pinyin <em>j-</em> is not. However, note that initial consonants in English are often not voiced either (or not clearly so at least), so in practice, the pronunciation is rather close); see commend by John Frazer below. The tongue position is also different, as explained above.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T16:56:40.430Z
Thank you for your kind help
Mathieu Krisztian
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-11T09:39:25.623Z
Maybe the first syllable in “genie” is a reasonable approximation.
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-11T10:45:30.197Z
That's pronounced the same as the "dj" in the original question, no? [dʒ] And so has the same problems, i.e. it's voiced and in the wrong place.
Olle Linge
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-11T20:00:23.640Z
One shouldn't trouble oneself with the voiced/unvoiced thing, English voiced consonants are pretty close to Chinese unaspirated ones. It is a minor difference. Much more important IMHO is the difference between the auditory 'fullness' of En. [ʒ] vs the 'slimness' of Ch. [ɕ/ʑ]. This 'fullness' is produced by an increased resonant volume (by bunching the tongue and/or rounding the lips) which leads to a higher proportion of low frequencies in the spectrum; conversely, 'slimness' (less prominent low frequencies) is made by spread lips and a narrow tongue channel.
John Frazer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-11T20:06:31.773Z
We can also liken Ch. 'ji', 'qi' to the hypothetical En. 'tyee', 'dyee'. Many but not all British speakers have a [ɕ] in Tuesday [tɕu:z-], others will say [tʃu:z-] merging it with choose [tʃu:z]. German speakers typically have an even 'fuller' [ʃ] than many En. speakers, and although this is almost never borne out in the transcriptions, the initial sound of German 'Schuh' [ʃu:] is quite a bit distinct from En. 'shoe' [ʃu:].
John Frazer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-11T20:44:45.163Z
Yes, valuable additions! I agree that voicing is usually not a problem (unless the student speaks a language that has fully voiced consonants in this position). I'm not well-versed enough in English phonetics to comment on the pronunciation of Tuesday, but I normally pronounced it with [ʃ] rather than [ɕ] as the latter transition feels rather awkward. If you have any more information about this (such when/where this might occur) that would be very interesting!
Olle Linge
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-11T21:19:37.623Z
The info came from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_alveolo-palatal_fricative (and is correct IMO). One more thing to say: En. 'hue' is often realized as [[h]çu:] with more or less the same sound as in the famous German 'Ich liebe dich'. This is again very similar to Ch. [ɕ] only that the latter has what is called 'sibilance' or 's-ness' added to it; this consists of an increase in high frequencies ('hissing'), you do it by pronouncing a proplonged [ç] and then try to gently press the tip of your tonge against the upper alveoles (gums) and narrowing the air passage to a narrow slit.
John Frazer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-11T21:34:11.437Z
Thanks! Mandarin [ɕ] is usually pronounced with the tongue tip down, though. The resulting sound is pretty close, of course, but when teaching, I've found that the method I describe in my answer leads students to the correct sound effectively!
Olle Linge
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-12T15:36:05.630Z
"[ɕ] is usually pronounced with the tongue tip down"—good catch. I was thinking to much other sibilants where the tip of the tongue does the groove action, but you're right, it's more a narrow canal behind the tip that does the work here.
John Frazer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T16:44:07.480Z
2021-01-11T21:21:18.237Z
2021-01-11T21:21:18.237Z
Olle Linge
<p>How to pronunce &quot;ji&quot; (chicken) ?</p>
<p>is is like english sound &quot;ti&quot; or like &quot;dj&quot;i ?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T16:11:35.417Z
It is like 'gee' with a raising tone
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T16:20:05.527Z
@Tang Ho : thank you. It is very important. Are you chinese ? Would you know why sometimes I *have the impression* that chinse people say "t" like the t of "tea". Are there some parts in China where they pronunce the "ji" (chicken) with a "t" ?pro
Mathieu Krisztian
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T16:20:44.433Z
by the way : it is not a raising tone *for sure* : it is a flat high tone.
Mathieu Krisztian
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T16:34:32.613Z
Just to verify in case other people read the comments later, it is not a rising tone (second tone), but a high, flat tone (first tone), as @MathieuKrisztian says.
Olle Linge
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-10T17:56:35.240Z
yes, I should say high tone, not raising tone, but 'gee' does around like  'ji' in Chinese
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-12T00:32:19.933Z
For the sound: 1.it is a flat tone. 2. say 'gee' with a smile and don't move your lips.
Shaw
<pronunciation>
How to pronunce "ji" (chicken)?
# How to pronunce "ji" (chicken)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-01-10)

How to pronunce "ji" (chicken) ?

is is like english sound "ti" or like "dj"i ?

**Tags:** pronunciation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It is like 'gee' with a raising tone  
> **username_0**: @username_1 : thank you. It is very important. Are you chinese ? Would you know why sometimes I *have the impression* that chinse people say "t" like the t of "tea". Are there some parts in China where they pronunce the "ji" (chicken) with a "t" ?pro  
> **username_0**: by the way : it is not a raising tone *for sure* : it is a flat high tone.  
> **username_2**: Just to verify in case other people read the comments later, it is not a rising tone (second tone), but a high, flat tone (first tone), as @username_0 says.  
> **username_1**: yes, I should say high tone, not raising tone, but 'gee' does around like  'ji' in Chinese  
> **username_3**: For the sound: 1.it is a flat tone. 2. say 'gee' with a smile and don't move your lips.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-01-10. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

The consonant sound written with *j-* in Pinyin does not exist in English, so using English words to approximate it will always be wrong to some extent.

Pinyin *j* consists of two sounds, a stop and a fricative. Let's start with the fricative, written [ɕ] in IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet) and *x* in Pinyin.

To produce this sound, place the tip of your tongue against your lower teeth ridge (that's the "shelf" you can feel behind your lower teeth), then try to say "sh" as in English "she", without moving the tongue tip. This will result in thicker-sounding *s*, produced with the blade of the tongue (further back than the tip, which is involved when you say a normal *s*).

To get to *j-*, simply add a small stop in front of the fricative we just learnt. That means briefly stopping the airflow, then letting it out while producing the [ɕ] sound. That results in [t͡ɕ], which is how *j* is written using IPA.

Note that if you release the air forcefully, you get aspiration, which is used to distinguish phonemes in Mandarin, so instead of *j-*, you'd be pronouncing *q-* instead. The aspiration is written with a superscript "h", so *qi* is [t͡ɕʰ] in IPA. *j-* should not be aspirated. It should not be voiced either.

The *-i* bit shouldn't cause too much trouble. It's pronounced [i], which is the same sound as in English "free", although a bit further forward and more closed. The difference is not very big.

鸡/雞, jī, "chicken", IPA: [t͡ɕi], with a high, flat tone.

If forced to choose between the alternatives you gave, then "dj" is probably closer because it also combines a stop with a fricative (called an affricate). Note that both the stop itself and the fricative are the wrong ones, though. "dj" in English is voiced, whereas Pinyin *j-* is not. However, note that initial consonants in English are often not voiced either (or not clearly so at least), so in practice, the pronunciation is rather close); see commend by username_5 username_5 below. The tongue position is also different, as explained above.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for your kind help  
> **username_4**: Maybe the first syllable in “genie” is a reasonable approximation.  
> **username_2**: That's pronounced the same as the "dj" in the original question, no? [dʒ] And so has the same problems, i.e. it's voiced and in the wrong place.  
> **username_5**: One shouldn't trouble oneself with the voiced/unvoiced thing, English voiced consonants are pretty close to Chinese unaspirated ones. It is a minor difference. Much more important IMHO is the difference between the auditory 'fullness' of En. [ʒ] vs the 'slimness' of Ch. [ɕ/ʑ]. This 'fullness' is produced by an increased resonant volume (by bunching the tongue and/or rounding the lips) which leads to a higher proportion of low frequencies in the spectrum; conversely, 'slimness' (less prominent low frequencies) is made by spread lips and a narrow tongue channel.  
> **username_5**: We can also liken Ch. 'ji', 'qi' to the hypothetical En. 'tyee', 'dyee'. Many but not all British speakers have a [ɕ] in Tuesday [tɕu:z-], others will say [tʃu:z-] merging it with choose [tʃu:z]. German speakers typically have an even 'fuller' [ʃ] than many En. speakers, and although this is almost never borne out in the transcriptions, the initial sound of German 'Schuh' [ʃu:] is quite a bit distinct from En. 'shoe' [ʃu:].  
> **username_2**: Yes, valuable additions! I agree that voicing is usually not a problem (unless the student speaks a language that has fully voiced consonants in this position). I'm not well-versed enough in English phonetics to comment on the pronunciation of Tuesday, but I normally pronounced it with [ʃ] rather than [ɕ] as the latter transition feels rather awkward. If you have any more information about this (such when/where this might occur) that would be very interesting!  
> **username_5**: The info came from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_alveolo-palatal_fricative (and is correct IMO). One more thing to say: En. 'hue' is often realized as [[h]çu:] with more or less the same sound as in the famous German 'Ich liebe dich'. This is again very similar to Ch. [ɕ] only that the latter has what is called 'sibilance' or 's-ness' added to it; this consists of an increase in high frequencies ('hissing'), you do it by pronouncing a proplonged [ç] and then try to gently press the tip of your tonge against the upper alveoles (gums) and narrowing the air passage to a narrow slit.  
> **username_2**: Thanks! Mandarin [ɕ] is usually pronounced with the tongue tip down, though. The resulting sound is pretty close, of course, but when teaching, I've found that the method I describe in my answer leads students to the correct sound effectively!  
> **username_5**: "[ɕ] is usually pronounced with the tongue tip down"—good catch. I was thinking to much other sibilants where the tip of the tongue does the groove action, but you're right, it's more a narrow canal behind the tip that does the work here.  

---

