Chinese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "记得" in Chinese?

Q: How do you pronounce 记得 in Chinese?

记得 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /tɕi˥˩.tɤ/. It means “to remember.” JEE-duh, a hard-falling first syllable followed by a weak toneless second. The j has no puff of air.

JEE-duh, a hard-falling first syllable followed by a weak toneless second. The j has no puff of air.

记得 /tɕi˥˩.tɤ/

jìde

Falling plus neutral, giving a heavy-light rhythm. Its main tonal interest is what happens in front of it: because jì is a fourth tone, 不 immediately before it converts to a rising bú. That is a rule about the underlying tone of jì, and the toneless de plays no part in it.

Listen: 记得

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Sound it out

jì Blade of the tongue spread against the hard palate, released with the breath held in, onto a tense "ee". The pitch drops steeply from high to low on a short, tight vowel.

de Toneless: an unaspirated d onto a schwa, quick and quiet, sitting at the low pitch jì finished on. Roughly half the length of the first syllable.

Hear it in a sentence

我不记得他的名字。

Wǒ bú jìde tā de míngzi.

I don't remember his name.

Listen: 我不记得他的名字。

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我不记得他的名字。 shows the negator change: bú rather than bù, because jì falls. Wǒ keeps its dip since bú is rising. Then de is toneless, tā holds high, another de is toneless, and míngzi gives a rise plus a final toneless syllable. Three of the eight syllables carry no tone, which is what makes the sentence flow rather than march.

Where English speakers slip

Learners restore a fourth tone to de, producing jì dé or jì dè, both of which sound over-articulated. Let it go slack. The 不 rule is the other frequent casualty: saying bù jìde ignores the falling tone of jì and is one of the most audible sandhi errors a beginner makes, because this exact phrase comes up constantly.