Chinese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "秋天" in Chinese?

Q: How do you pronounce 秋天 in Chinese?

秋天 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /tɕʰjoʊ˥.tʰjɛn˥/. It means “autumn / fall.” chyo-TYEN, both syllables high and flat. Two aspirated initials, one palatal and one alveolar.

chyo-TYEN, both syllables high and flat. Two aspirated initials, one palatal and one alveolar.

秋天 /tɕʰjoʊ˥.tʰjɛn˥/

qiūtiān

Both syllables sit high and flat with no movement, and two aspirated initials that need distinguishing by place rather than by breath: q is made forward against the hard palate with spread lips, t at the teeth ridge. Both have air; only the tongue position separates them.

Listen: 秋天

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

qiū The tongue's front spreads across the hard palate, lips smiling, released with a strong puff of air, into the -iu final — a glide from "ee" through a mid vowel to a rounded finish.

tiān The tongue tip releases with another gust of breath, into a quick "ee" glide, a tight "eh", and a front n. Also held at the top of the range.

Hear it in a sentence

秋天的颜色很美。

Qiūtiān de yánsè hěn měi.

Autumn has beautiful colors.

Listen: 秋天的颜色很美。

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

秋天的颜色很美。 ends with hěn and měi adjacent, both dipping, so hěn rises: hén měi. Before that, qiū and tiān hold level, de fades, yán climbs, sè plunges. The sentence therefore starts high, drops, and finishes with a climb into a sag — three quite different shapes in seven syllables.

Where English speakers slip

The q is produced as an English "ch" with rounded lips and a retracted tongue, when it should be forward with the lips spread. The -iu final also collapses to "choo", losing the initial glide and the hidden middle vowel. And the hěn měi conversion at the end is missed as often as any in the language.