Chinese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "小" in Chinese?

Q: How do you pronounce 小 in Chinese?

小 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɕjɑʊ˨˩˦/. It means “small / little.” syao, low and sagging. The thin smiling hiss of x, then a glide from "ee" through "ah" to a rounded finish.

syao, low and sagging. The thin smiling hiss of x, then a glide from "ee" through "ah" to a rounded finish.

小 /ɕjɑʊ˨˩˦/

xiǎo

Because this adjective modifies nouns and a great many common nouns dip, it lands in sandhi territory constantly. Xiǎo gǒu, xiǎo mǎ and xiǎo jiě all force it up to a rising tone. Before a first, second or fourth tone it keeps its dip.

Listen: 小

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Sound it out

x- Lips spread, tongue blade raised toward the hard palate, tip pointing down. Thinner and brighter than English "sh", and made further forward than the retroflex series.

-iao A long three-part glide: "ee", then a wide open "ah", then closing toward "oo". The open middle is the core and the part most often skipped.

xiǎo (dip) The pitch sinks to the bottom across that long glide. Its length makes this one of the more comfortable third tones to produce fully.

Hear it in a sentence

我有一只小狗。

Wǒ yǒu yì zhī xiǎo gǒu.

I have a small dog.

Listen: 我有一只小狗。

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我有一只小狗。 has two separate sandhi events. Wǒ and yǒu are adjacent third tones, so wǒ rises. Then xiǎo and gǒu are also adjacent third tones, so xiǎo rises too. Between them, yì is 一 already converted to a falling tone before the level zhī. The written sentence has four third-tone marks and only two of them survive as dips.

Where English speakers slip

Nearly everyone substitutes English "sh" for the x, which collides with the retroflex sh and blurs a distinction Mandarin cares about. Smile and keep the tip down. The glide gets shortened to "shao" without the initial "ee", or to "see-ow" in two beats. And the xiǎo gǒu sandhi is one that learners routinely miss, producing two heavy dips where a native says a rise and a dip.