Chinese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "本" in Chinese?

Q: How do you pronounce 本 in Chinese?

本 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /pən˨˩˦/. It means “(measure word for books).” bun, roughly, with no puff on the b, a front n at the end, and a pitch that drops low and stays there.

bun, roughly, with no puff on the b, a front n at the end, and a pitch that drops low and stays there.

本 /pən˨˩˦/

běn

As a measure word, this syllable spends its life forcing changes on the numbers in front of it: any number in front of it that carries a third tone must rise. Wǔ běn becomes wú běn; jiǔ běn becomes jiú běn. And 一 in front of it becomes yì, falling, since 本 is a third tone.

Listen: 本

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Sound it out

b- Lips together, then apart, with no escaping breath. Silent release rather than an audible pop.

-en A short central vowel much like the one in English "taken", closed with the tongue tip at the ridge. Crucially the tip does make contact — this is a front nasal, and letting it drift back produces the different final -eng.

běn (dip) Low and sagging. The syllable is short, so the low portion arrives fast and there is not much room for the final upturn unless the word stands alone.

Hear it in a sentence

我买了一本书。

Wǒ mǎile yì běn shū.

I bought a book.

Listen: 我买了一本书。

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我买了一本书。 is dense with tone events. Wǒ mǎi puts two third tones in contact so wǒ rises; le is toneless; yì is 一 already converted to a falling tone before the third-tone běn; běn keeps its dip; and shū is high and level at the end. Five syllables, four different tonal states.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers hear "ben" and use the vowel of "bed", which is too open and too far forward. Relax toward a central "uh" instead. Aspiration is the other habitual slip: a puff of air makes it pēn, and since the following word is often a noun starting with a vowel or a fricative, the mistake carries clearly. Finally, keep the n forward — běng is not a syllable, but the habit of letting nasals drift back is strong.