Chinese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "假期" in Chinese?

Q: How do you pronounce 假期 in Chinese?

假期 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /tɕja˥˩.tɕʰi˥/. It means “vacation / holiday.” jyah-CHEE: a hard-falling first syllable with no puff of air, then a high level second with a strong one. Both initials are palatal.

jyah-CHEE: a hard-falling first syllable with no puff of air, then a high level second with a strong one. Both initials are palatal.

假期 /tɕja˥˩.tɕʰi˥/

jiàqī

A plunge then a plateau, with no sandhi. The two initials are made in exactly the same place and differ only in aspiration, sitting directly next to each other — which makes this word one of the clearest j-versus-q drills available. If both syllables feel the same at the tongue, one is wrong.

Listen: 假期

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Sound it out

jià The blade makes broad contact with the hard palate, released with the breath held in, into a quick "ee" glide and a wide open "ah". The pitch plunges.

qī The same broad tongue position, but released with a genuine gust of breath, onto a tense spread "ee". Held level at the top, so the word leaps back up after its drop.

Hear it in a sentence

假期我要去旅行。

Jiàqī wǒ yào qù lǚxíng.

I'm going traveling during the vacation.

Listen: 假期我要去旅行。

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假期我要去旅行。 keeps wǒ at a full dip because yào falls, then yào and qù both plunge, lǚ dips, and xíng climbs. Note lǚ contains the rounded front ü written with a diaeresis because it follows l. Three descents and one climb, with the sentence ending on a rise.

Where English speakers slip

The breath contrast collapses, so both syllables come out with the same amount of breath — feel the air for qī and not for jià. The "ee" glide in jià also disappears, giving "jah", and the open vowel is often tightened toward English "ja" when the jaw should genuinely drop.