LingoDrop
Chinese · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "老师" in Chinese?
lao-SHRR: a low sagging first syllable, then a high level second with the tongue curled back and no vowel at all.
lǎoshī
Low first, then a plateau, with no conversion since shī is level. That contrasts usefully with 老板 lǎobǎn, where the second syllable dips and the first would have to rise. The same honorific prefix behaves differently depending on the profession attached to it.
Listen: 老师
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Hear it in a sentence
老师在教室里上课。
Lǎoshī zài jiàoshì lǐ shàngkè.
The teacher is teaching in the classroom.
Listen: 老师在教室里上课。
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老师在教室里上课。 keeps lǎo at a full dip because shī is level. Then zài, jiào and shì all plunge, lǐ dips, shàng plunges again, and kè plunges a fourth time. Note lǐ keeps its own dip because shàng falls rather than dips. Four separate descents make this a demanding sentence.
Where English speakers slip
Syllable two draws the usual "she", importing a vowel that does not exist and flattening the retroflex. Curl the tip and buzz. On the first, the l is often darkened English-style, which pulls the following glide backward, and the long -ao final gets shortened so the dipping tone has nowhere to sink.