<p>The Chinese-speaking language prefers a sentence to have clear &quot;low - hi&quot; sounds between consecutive words for ease of pronouncing and listening. When two words in a phrase have the same tone, the second word is often pronounced shorter and faster (急促) with a lighter sound (輕聲). Therefore, 生 in 先(first tone)生(first tone) can be pronounced both as xiān​sheng​, and xiānshēng. Note the change of sound from normal tone to 輕聲 is not a rule, nor mandatory but a better practice.</p>
<p>將漢語中的音節弱化之後，聲調會變得又輕又短，此種音變即為輕聲。
輕聲的調值需要根據語境決定調值，所以輕聲音節不可能獨立存在。</p>
<p>例如：</p>
<p>第一聲+輕聲：釘子 叔叔 他的</p>
<p>第二聲+輕聲：鉗子 伯伯 誰的</p>
<p>第三聲+輕聲：剪子 姐姐 我的</p>
<p>第四聲+輕聲：刨子 妹妹 是的</p>
<p><a href="https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E8%BC%95%E8%81%B2/5667261" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E8%BC%95%E8%81%B2/5667261</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-24T18:47:44.793Z
2022-07-24T19:08:31.953Z
2022-07-24T19:08:31.953Z
r13
<p>The pinyin for 生 is: <strong>shēng</strong>.</p>
<p>The pinyin for 先生 is: xiān​<strong>sheng​</strong>.</p>
<p>why does the tone change when it's part of a word?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-24T06:19:13.213Z
I could do no better than to direct you to this Site -- https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/pronunciation/Tone_change_rules
Wayne Cheah
<tones>
why does 生 and 先生 have different tones when it's part of a word?
# why does 生 and 先生 have different tones when it's part of a word?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-07-24)

The pinyin for 生 is: **shēng**.

The pinyin for 先生 is: xiān​**sheng​**.

why does the tone change when it's part of a word?

**Tags:** tones

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I could do no better than to direct you to this Site -- https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/pronunciation/Tone_change_rules  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-07-24. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

The Chinese-speaking language prefers a sentence to have clear "low - hi" sounds between consecutive words for ease of pronouncing and listening. When two words in a phrase have the same tone, the second word is often pronounced shorter and faster (急促) with a lighter sound (輕聲). Therefore, 生 in 先(first tone)生(first tone) can be pronounced both as xiān​sheng​, and xiānshēng. Note the change of sound from normal tone to 輕聲 is not a rule, nor mandatory but a better practice.

將漢語中的音節弱化之後，聲調會變得又輕又短，此種音變即為輕聲。
輕聲的調值需要根據語境決定調值，所以輕聲音節不可能獨立存在。

例如：

第一聲+輕聲：釘子 叔叔 他的

第二聲+輕聲：鉗子 伯伯 誰的

第三聲+輕聲：剪子 姐姐 我的

第四聲+輕聲：刨子 妹妹 是的

<https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E8%BC%95%E8%81%B2/5667261>


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