Chinese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "国家" in Chinese?

Q: How do you pronounce 国家 in Chinese?

国家 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kwo˧˥.tɕja˥/. It means “country.” gwor-JYAH: a rising first syllable with an unaspirated g, then a high level second with an unaspirated j.

gwor-JYAH: a rising first syllable with an unaspirated g, then a high level second with an unaspirated j.

国家 /kwo˧˥.tɕja˥/

guójiā

Up, then flat, and no sandhi. Both initials are unaspirated, which makes this a good word for practising the absence of breath twice in a row — English speakers naturally aspirate at the start of each syllable, and here neither one should have any air behind it.

Listen: 国家

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Sound it out

guó Velar closure at the soft palate, released silently with the lips already rounded, then a glide from "oo" out toward "aw". The tone lifts from mid to high.

jiā Front of the tongue flat on the hard palate, released with no breath, into a quick "ee" glide and a broad open "ah". Held level at the top, roughly where guó's climb arrived.

Hear it in a sentence

中国是个大国家。

Zhōngguó shì ge dà guójiā.

China is a big country.

Listen: 中国是个大国家。

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中国是个大国家。 gives Zhōng level, guó rising, shì falling, ge toneless, dà falling, guó rising again, jiā level. Two instances of guó with identical tones, separated by a fall and a toneless syllable, which makes it a natural drill for producing the same rise twice in one sentence.

Where English speakers slip

Aspirating either initial changes the word — kuó and qiā respectively. Keep both releases silent. The -uo final in guó also flattens to "oh" for most learners, losing the rounded onset, and the "ee" glide in jiā disappears so the syllable becomes "jah". Four small things in two syllables.