LingoDrop
Chinese · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "手机" in Chinese?
show-JEE: a low sagging first syllable with the tongue curled back, then a high level second with an unaspirated j.
shǒujī
A trough, then a plateau, with no conversion — jī is level, so shǒu keeps its full descent. That is the direct contrast with 手表, where the second syllable dips and forces the first to rise. Two very common words sharing a first syllable that behaves differently in each.
Listen: 手机
Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.
Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
我的手机没电了。
Wǒ de shǒujī méi diàn le.
My phone is out of battery.
Listen: 我的手机没电了。
Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.
我的手机没电了。 keeps wǒ at a full dip because de is toneless, then shǒu keeps its own dip before the level jī, méi climbs, diàn plunges, le fades. Two unchanged dipping tones in one sentence, which is worth noticing since the presence of hooks does not by itself mean a conversion.
Where English speakers slip
If air escapes on the j you get gives qī. Keep the breath in. The retroflex in shǒu flattens into an English "sh", pulling it toward the thin x. And the pitch leap between the low first syllable and the high second gets compressed, because English de-stresses the second element of a compound noun rather than raising it.