<p>Please check the video files to hear the differences between the pronunciations of 大 and 他, and their starting sound - ㄉ(d) and ㄊ(t) respectively.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/uO4ib.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/uO4ib.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKmwhmI0mBE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">發音</a></p>
<p>● 大 [dà/<strong>ㄉ</strong>ㄚˋ] <a href="https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%A4%A7" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%A4%A7</a></p>
<p>● 他 [tā/<strong>ㄊ</strong>ㄚˉ] <a href="https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E4%BB%96" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E4%BB%96</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTjeYe5iKW4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Other Examples</a> - pay attention to 0:20 (ㄉ); 0:34 (ㄊ)</p>
<p><strong>ADD: 拼音 注音 对照</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/TAC1a.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/TAC1a.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a>
<a href="https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1hh411Q7hR/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">拼音-注音 对照</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-05-18T23:59:13.663Z
do you believe the initial of spoken 大 approximates the english understanding of D or T?
user55570
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-05-19T03:20:44.920Z
Approximately, "ㄉ" = "d", as in "dog", and "ㄊ" = "t", as in "tea".
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-18T18:03:47.960Z
2023-09-18T21:01:23.073Z
2023-09-18T21:01:23.073Z
r13
<p>他 starts with a [tʰ] (pinyin &quot;t&quot;) which is aspirated. It is like most of the &quot;t&quot;s in English, for example: top or tap</p>
<p>大 starts with a [t]  (pinyin &quot;d&quot;) which is non-aspirated. It is like the &quot;t&quot;s in &quot;start&quot; or &quot;stop&quot;</p>
<p>The problem is in the pinyin. The &quot;d&quot; in pinyin is not a true voiced consonant. it is just a non-aspirated t. It is not the same as an English d.</p>
<p>As a native Chinese speaker, I only realized this when I started to learn French where most &quot;t&quot;s are non-aspirated.</p>
<p>Check this two links for more information about t and aspiration:</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_dental_and_alveolar_plosives" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_dental_and_alveolar_plosives</a></p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirated_consonant" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirated_consonant</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-19T01:34:23.460Z
The confusion is to the English speakers. I doubt there is any Chinese native who couldn't distinguish the two sounds.
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-19T17:54:51.480Z
@r13 agree. [t] vs [tʰ] is just for English speakers. For Chinese speakers, some have problem to distinguish [d] vs [t].(for example: Hindi has [t] vs [tʰ], and some India people with accent will say "time" as [t]ime, to some Chinese, they would think the India accent says [d]ime, but it is not, it is just a non-aspirated [t]. Hindi even has [dʰ] which I can't even imagine how to pronounce lol ) It is always hard to get used to something that rarely show or does not exist in one's native tongue.
Archeosudoerus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-18T15:24:50.757Z
2023-09-18T16:34:05.717Z
2023-09-18T16:34:05.717Z
Archeosudoerus
<p>When listening to normal conversation or fast spoken Mandarin chinese, can native speakers still hear the aspiration in 他 vs 大, particularly if relying only on sound or what is heard?</p>
<p>As an English speaker, I have to say that I find that I hear little difference.</p>
<p>We can listen to a Chinese speaker say <a href="https://translate.google.com/?sl=zh-TW&amp;tl=en&amp;text=%E5%A4%A7%E4%BB%96" rel="nofollow noreferrer">大他</a></p>
<p>And an english speaker say <a href="https://translate.google.com/?sl=en&amp;tl=zh-TW&amp;text=data" rel="nofollow noreferrer">data</a></p>
<p>The former sounds more like &quot;tata&quot; and the latter is more like &quot;data&quot;.</p>
<p>Now, the comparison is problably not a good thing to do, but just as a learner, I suppose it is the conundrum one faces. Is it more correct to say the former or the latter?</p>
<p>Would it be a fair statement that for a person with an english or similar background learning chinese, that the initial D in mandarin pinyin is an unvoiced and unaspirated initial sound, and that the effectively heard or produced sound can be either a D or T sound (for a person of English speaking background), depending on the the letters that follow.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-20T21:43:47.280Z
**Comments have been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/148659/discussion-on-question-by-user55570-hearing-the-difference-between--vs-); please do not continue the discussion here.** Before posting a comment below this one, please review the [purposes of comments](/help/privileges/comment). Comments that do not request clarification or suggest improvements usually belong as an [answer](/help/how-to-answer), on [meta], or in [chat]. Comments continuing discussion may be removed.
Tang Ho
<mandarin><listening>
Hearing the difference between 他 vs 大
# Hearing the difference between 他 vs 大

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-09-18)

When listening to normal conversation or fast spoken Mandarin chinese, can native speakers still hear the aspiration in 他 vs 大, particularly if relying only on sound or what is heard?

As an English speaker, I have to say that I find that I hear little difference.

We can listen to a Chinese speaker say [大他](https://translate.google.com/?sl=zh-TW&tl=en&text=%E5%A4%A7%E4%BB%96)

And an english speaker say [data](https://translate.google.com/?sl=en&tl=zh-TW&text=data)

The former sounds more like "tata" and the latter is more like "data".

Now, the comparison is problably not a good thing to do, but just as a learner, I suppose it is the conundrum one faces. Is it more correct to say the former or the latter?

Would it be a fair statement that for a person with an english or similar background learning chinese, that the initial D in mandarin pinyin is an unvoiced and unaspirated initial sound, and that the effectively heard or produced sound can be either a D or T sound (for a person of English speaking background), depending on the the letters that follow.

**Tags:** mandarin, listening

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: **Comments have been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/148659/discussion-on-question-by-username_0-hearing-the-difference-between--vs-); please do not continue the discussion here.** Before posting a comment below this one, please review the [purposes of comments](/help/privileges/comment). Comments that do not request clarification or suggest improvements usually belong as an [answer](/help/how-to-answer), on [meta], or in [chat]. Comments continuing discussion may be removed.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-09-18. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

他 starts with a [tʰ] (pinyin "t") which is aspirated. It is like most of the "t"s in English, for example: top or tap

大 starts with a [t] (pinyin "d") which is non-aspirated. It is like the "t"s in "start" or "stop"

The problem is in the pinyin. The "d" in pinyin is not a true voiced consonant. it is just a non-aspirated t. It is not the same as an English d.

As a native Chinese speaker, I only realized this when I started to learn French where most "t"s are non-aspirated.

Check this two links for more information about t and aspiration:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_dental_and_alveolar_plosives>

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirated_consonant>

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: The confusion is to the English speakers. I doubt there is any Chinese native who couldn't distinguish the two sounds.  
> **username_3**: @username_2 agree. [t] vs [tʰ] is just for English speakers. For Chinese speakers, some have problem to distinguish [d] vs [t].(for example: Hindi has [t] vs [tʰ], and some India people with accent will say "time" as [t]ime, to some Chinese, they would think the India accent says [d]ime, but it is not, it is just a non-aspirated [t]. Hindi even has [dʰ] which I can't even imagine how to pronounce lol ) It is always hard to get used to something that rarely show or does not exist in one's native tongue.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2023-09-18. Score: 1

Please check the video files to hear the differences between the pronunciations of 大 and 他, and their starting sound - ㄉ(d) and ㄊ(t) respectively.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/uO4ib.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/uO4ib.png) [發音](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKmwhmI0mBE)

● 大 [dà/**ㄉ**ㄚˋ] <https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%A4%A7>

● 他 [tā/**ㄊ**ㄚˉ] <https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E4%BB%96>

[Other Examples](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTjeYe5iKW4) - pay attention to 0:20 (ㄉ); 0:34 (ㄊ)

**ADD: 拼音 注音 对照**

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/TAC1a.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/TAC1a.png)
[拼音-注音 对照](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1hh411Q7hR/)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: do you believe the initial of spoken 大 approximates the english understanding of D or T?  
> **username_2**: Approximately, "ㄉ" = "d", as in "dog", and "ㄊ" = "t", as in "tea".  

---

